Policing UK 2013 - Police Federation

THE POLICE REFORM PROGRAMME
Brave new world
Fraser Sampson discusses
the role of the new police
and crime commissioners
Fraser Sampson is Chief Executive
and Solicitor for the Police & Crime
Commissioner of West Yorkshire
On 21 November 2012, a new
figure descended onto the crimefighting
landscape of England
and Wales. At midnight the Police eform
and Social esponsibility Act spawned
some 41 police and crime commissioners,
one for every police area outside the
Metropolis. By then their London
equivalent, the Mayor’s Office for Policing
and Crime – which has broadly the same
powers and responsibilities within the
Metropolitan Police area – had been in
place for almost a year.
For a British audience brought up on
a diet of American TV dinners the title
of ‘commissioner’ holds out a beguiling
familiarity. But this new blue line will
differ significantly from other models of
civic governance – here or over there.
The policing protocol says that
these new constitutional officeholders
will be responsible for the totality of
policing in their areas. How they will
discharge that heavy responsibility is
partly answered in the legislation, but
will mostly be left to the individual
commissioners themselves. The Act
creates a raft of obligations – such as
the requirement to publish a police
and crime plan – together with the
necessary powers to meet them, but
police and crime commissioners (PCCs)
will enjoy a great deal of local latitude
in discharging their obligations. In other
words the law prescribes the ‘what’ –
the ‘how’ is pretty well up to them.
The commissioners will have powers
to raise funds via local precept, own
assets and employ staff. They will not
be chief police officers, but will have the
power to hire and fire each of the 41
chief constables who will be accountable
to them for policing activity. Conformity
of policing with the PCC’s police and
crime plan is a given and it is likely
that local policy will draw heavily on
manifesto commitments.
Setting boundaries
Where does this leave the chief officers’
traditional independence in operational
matters The boundaries between
operational policing and the legitimate
territory of governance are not always
clearly staked out. Strong local feeling
about tactics such as ‘kettling’ will have
to be carefully considered and PCCs
will have power to direct their chief
constables to take specific actions about
some complaints.
In declining the opportunity to define
‘operational independence’ Parliament
has pointedly left this key issue to
be shaped by evolutionary forces.
Interpreting legislation is for the courts
and judges will be invited to re-read the
old common law authorities by the new
light of our changed constitution.
24 | POLICING UK