Axing the Police and Crime Commissioners - 6 years late

 

Six years ago I was the Lib Dem candidate in the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner by-election. I campaigned simply to have the PCCs abolished. Our regional newspaper, The Journal, put my call on the front page! All the other candidates campaigned to keep the PCCs in place. Today I'm pleased to see that the government are planning to scrap the role. Not before time! PCCs were an expensive experiment that did nothing to bring policing closer to the people. A pity they are six years late!

Merging the PCC role with the regional mayoral position is sensible. I speak as someone who is not necessarily a fan of the current mayoral system but it is the only show in town in terms of English devolution. The overview of policing is a strategic function so it makes sense to put it with the regional mayors. I can see however a problem in the North East. NECA covers two PCCs - Northumbria and Co Durham. The latter includes Darlington which is also part of the Teeside mayoral authority. So there will have to be a carve up to transfer Darlington to the Tees Valley. Hopefully that will not delay the scrapping of PCCs generally.