Overview
- Policing minister Sarah Jones confirmed in the Commons that all 41 PCC posts will be phased out at the end of the current term, with the 2028 elections cancelled.
- Oversight will move to mayors where they exist and to council-led policing and crime boards elsewhere, replicating arrangements already in places such as London and Greater Manchester.
- The Home Office projects more than £100 million in savings this Parliament and about £20 million annually for frontline policing, described as enough to fund roughly 320 constables a year.
- The government cited under-25% turnout in 2024 PCC elections and research showing two in five people are unaware PCCs exist, arguing the model has weakened accountability and hindered chief constable recruitment.
- APCC chair Emily Spurrell and several PCCs condemned the decision as rushed and warned of an accountability gap, while Conservatives called the move cosmetic and pressed for the long-promised policing White Paper.