Overview
- Policing minister Sarah Jones told MPs that the 41 PCC posts in England and Wales will end with the next scheduled elections in 2028, with current officeholders serving out their terms.
- Oversight of budgets, priorities and chief constable appointments will transfer to elected mayors where possible, with council leaders chairing new policing and crime boards elsewhere.
- The Home Office estimates savings of more than £100 million this parliament, with about £20 million a year redirected to neighbourhood policing, equivalent to roughly 320 constables.
- Jones cited low turnout and public recognition as evidence the model has weakened accountability, while APCC chair Emily Spurrell warned the change could create a "dangerous accountability vacuum."
- Ministers presented the move as the first step in a wider reform agenda to be detailed in a forthcoming policing white paper, as senior chiefs press for potential force consolidation.