Accounting for the Police: The New Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales

Mawby, Rob; Smith, Kreseda

doi:10.1350/pojo.2013.86.2.610

Cited by 11 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Consistent with the 'and crime' component of their job title, PCCs are also charged with providing an efficient and effective wider criminal justice system, and are expected to work closely with Community Safety Partnerships to formulate joined-up strategies and practical interventions to tackle crime and disorder (Crawford andEvans 2017, Loveday 2018). As part of this role, PCCs have been tasked with commissioning community safety services and the majority of support services for victims via awarding Crime and Disorder Reduction Grants to statutory, private and/or third sector agencies (Madoc-Jones et al 2015, Mawby andSmith 2013,). Hence, the direct and indirect funding that had formerly been distributed by central government has been placed into the hands of PCCs, thus setting them up to be, as Loader (2014 p. 41) maintains, 'powerful actorseven the most powerful actoron the local policing and crime reduction scene'.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Police and Crime Commissioners: new agents of crime and justice policy transfer?

Bainbridge

2020

Policing and Society

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This article argues that the police accountability and governance reforms introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government (2010-2015) have created a new window for 'international-subnational' crime and justice policy transfer to occur in England and Wales by placing Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) into a local strategic leadership position. It begins by providing an account of the emergence of PCCs and the controversies that have surrounded them, while at the same time maintaining that they are unlikely to be abolished in the foreseeable future. Three reasons as to why PCCs may seek to import policies from abroad are then presented, encompassing ballot-box politicking, hyperawareness of constituency discontent and a demonstrated willingness to pioneer new crime control initiatives. Subsequent to presenting an international-subnational policy transfer case study-that of London's Compulsory Sobriety Pilot-several analytical and practice-based 'lessons' are outlined pertaining to the process of emulating non-indigenous subnational crime control innovations.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Police and Crime Commissioners: new agents of crime and justice policy transfer?

Bainbridge

2020

Policing and Society

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“…The problem has been compounded by the decision to establish a national police authority, the SPA, whose membership was to be based on appointment rather than election. Indeed, this development only offers a further contrast to those implemented south of the border where direct election, for better or worse, has now assumed an ever greater significance (Mawby and Smith 2013).…”

Section: Responding To the Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Police Scotland: challenging the current democratic deficit in police governance and public accountability

Loveday

2018

Crime Prev Community Saf

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This article considers the recent creation of Police Scotland and the substitution of local police forces for a national police service 'Police Scotland' in 2013. It assesses the drivers for change and the arguments presented by both politicians and police professionals in favour of the eradication of all 8 local Scottish forces and the creation of a single police force. It contrasts developments in Scotland with those in England and Wales where there has been a recommitment to local delivery of police services in which local police boundaries have been retained with the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners. It considers the police boundaries and coterminosity with local authorities and highlights the absence of shared boundaries within Police Scotland. It reflects on the removal of local accountability in Scotland with the abolition of Police Boards and the creation of a national and unelected Scottish Police Authority. It highlights the significance of police planning led by senior officers from Strathclyde Police and the impact of this on Police Scotland. It raises legitimate questions as to the overall efficacy of a national force made answerable to a nationally appointed body, the Scottish Police Authority. Finally, it makes a number of recommendations which might go towards someway to reestablishing a degree of local accountability to communities and local governments in Scotland which is now so clearly absent.

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“…(Ministry of Justice, 2012b: 16) This is a point that, incidentally, ignored the reality that PCCs were elected, i.e. mandated, with an average poll turnout of 15%, 7 and were highly unrepresentative of the areas they served, and had no expertise re victim services 8 (Mawby and Smith, 2013).…”

Section: The Organisation Of Victim Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Victim Support in England and Wales

Mawby

2016

International Review of Victimology

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Victim Support in England and Wales emerged in the 1970s and spread throughout the UK. In doing so, it became established as the national victims' service, offering support for victims of most types of crime. Valued under Conservative governments as an example of communitybased support, it became more professionalised and better funded under New Labour. However, in the age of austerity the coalition government sought to restrict growth and adopt greater competition for government grants, and a move towards contracting services locally through Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) has meant a further readjustment of provisions for crime victims, with significant implications for the future of Victim Support. This paper speculates on whether this spells the end of an era for Victim Support, or indeed a case of 'back to the future', ending the distinctive generic service that Victim Support has established. This may provide lessons for the future of victim services in other countries where developments came rather later.

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Accounting for the Police: The New Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales

Cited by 11 publications

References 9 publications

Police and Crime Commissioners: new agents of crime and justice policy transfer?

Police and Crime Commissioners: new agents of crime and justice policy transfer?

Police Scotland: challenging the current democratic deficit in police governance and public accountability

Victim Support in England and Wales

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