Police Crime Commissioners and the Controversy of Democratic Accountability

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are elected representatives whose role is to ensure that police forces in England and Wales are running effectively. Intended to bring a public voice to policing and hold the police to account, the holders of this controversial role also control budgets and strategic planning.

Bryn Caless and Jane Owens obtained unprecedented access to the PCCs and their chief police officer teams and undertook confidential interviews with both sides. The results reveal the innermost workings of the PCCs’ relationships with the police, media, partners and public. The authors analyse the election process (in which PCCs polled the lowest local mandate ever) and consider the future of this politically-contested role. Examining the PCCs’ impact on policing, this fascinating book makes essential reading for Police Crime Commissioners, chief officers, police officers, police trainers and academics, students and researchers in criminology and policing.

Bryn Caless specialises in elite studies of policing and police accountability. He has written Policing at the Top, (2011) on chief police officers in England and Wales, and, with Steve Tong, a companion study of police leaders in Europe (2015). This is his third book for Policy Press.

After a varied career as a police officer, Jane Owens now lectures at Canterbury, Christ Church University. Her research interests include neighbourhood policing, police governance and ‘private’ policing.