Under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, the first election of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will take place on 15 November 2012.

The introduction of PCCs is a very significant change in policing governance that introduces new structures and processes. This page provides information about PCCs and the new governance structures, and includes links to more detailed information. If you have a question about PCCs that is not answered by the information available here, please contact Jonathan Jardine (0121 626 5599, j.jardine@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk). We are happy to provide briefings to organisations and groups about the introduction of PCCs.

More detailed information about transition arrangements is available here.

	Who looks after policing now?
	What will the PCC do?
	What will be different?
	Why has this been done?
	What are we doing to facilitate this process in the West Midlands?
	Who will hold the PCC to account?
	Who can stand for election?
	Is there a protocol for members of the Police Authority who are intending to be PCC candidates?
	How much will a Police and Crime Commissioner be paid?
	How will the PCC work with West Midlands Police and the Chief Constable?
	How will the PCC work with other police forces and PCCs and national bodies?
	Is this the same as what’s happened in London?
	How much will PCCs cost?

Who looks after policing now?

	There are 43 police forces in England and Wales each has a police authority
	We are like a local authority – but deal specifically with policing
	We have 17 members – 9 local councillors and 8 independents
	We cover the seven local authority areas of the West Midlands

What will the PCC do?

	Appoint and, if necessary, dismiss the Chief Constable
	Set the police budget and the policing precept (the "policing precept" is the part of local council tax that goes to the police)
	Consult the public, including victims of crime, on policing and community safety
	Write and implement policing and crime plans that include strategic objectives and targets
	Work with partners on community safety and policing
	Monitor police performance and hold the Chief Constable to account
	Monitor how the police deal with complaints
	Appoint a Deputy PCC if desired

What will be different?

	The police authority will be replaced by a PCC following a seven day transition period from 15 November 2012 to 22 November 2012
	The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and Office of the Chief Constable will be separate “corporations sole” in law
	The PCC will be directly elected by the voters of the West Midlands county, using the Supplementary Voting system. Everyone entitled to vote in a normal local election will be able to vote in PCC elections.
	The PCC will be held to account by a separate Police and Crime Panel
	The PCC's first term will last three and a half years until the next election, likely to be on 5 May 2016
	Subsequent terms will last four years. There are no term limits.

Why has this been done?

	The Coalition Government agreed to introduce PCCs
	The government believes that police authorities have not been visible to the public
	They believe that police authorities do not provide an effective direct link between the public and the police
	They believe that having a directly democratically elected person is better – hence the new Act

Who will hold the PCC to account?

Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) will be created to hold the PCC to account on behalf of the public. PCPs will be made up of councillor members from each local authority and two independent members.

The PCP will have powers including :

	Review the draft Police and Crime Plan
	Publicly scrutinise the PCC's Annual Report
	Review and scrutinise decisions and actions by the PCC
	Review and (with a two-thirds majority) veto the PCC's proposed precept
	Veto the PCC's nominations for Chief Constable (with a two-thirds majority required)
	Hold confirmatory hearings on some PCC appointments
	Investigate complaints against the PCC
	Suspend the PCC if necessary
	Appoint an acting PCC if necessary

What are we doing to facilitate the process of change in the West Midlands?

A West Midlands Governance Transition Board has been set up, which will:

	Enable, as far as possible, a seamless transition from the Authority to the police and crime commissioner
	Release resources to enable transition
	Give support in planning, managing and implementing the agreed plan
	Report on progress and seek relevant decisions from represented bodies
	Ensure appropriate quality assurance and that costs are captured and monitored

A full report into transition issues that was presented to the Police Authority on 23 June 2011 is available to download here.

Who can stand for election?

Candidates must:

	Be a British, Commonwealth or EU citizen
	Be 18 years of age or over
	Be resident in the police force area

Restrictions on candidacy include a conviction for an imprisonable offence, and being a serving civil servant, judge, police officer, member of police staff or member of a police authority or member of the regular armed forces.

There is also information available on the Home Office website.

Is there a protocol for members of the Police Authority who are intending to be PCC candidates?

There is a protocol, which is intended to assist and guide members of the Authority who are intending to stand as candidates for Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and those members who are supporting intending candidates. Available to download here.

Relevant Codes and Protocols

How much will a Police and Crime Commissioner be paid?

The Review Body on Senior Salaries has made a set of proposals to the Home Secretary, giving recommended salaries for PCCs. The recommended salary for the PCC for the West Midlands is £100,000 per year. In a statement to Parliament on 7 March 2012, the Home Secretary accepted the recommended salary rates for PCCs, with the exception that PCCs would not be able to declare themselves part-time and only accept part of their salary. Instead, candidates will be required to declare what other paid or unpaid interests they hold that may conflict with their role or affect the amount of time which they will be devoting to it.

More information about PCC salaries is available here and the Home Secretary's statement is here.

How will the PCC work with West Midlands Police and the Chief Constable?

The PCC's working relationship with the Chief Constable and West Midlands Police will be governed by a Policing Protocol. This is statutory guidance produced by the Home Secretary to which the PCC and Chief Constable will "have regard". The Policing Protocol states that the relationship between the Chief Constable and PCC should be based on "principles of goodwill, professionalism, openness and trust". It also makes clear that "the PCC must not fetter the operational independence of the police force and the Chief Constable who leads it". The full Policing Protocol can be found here.

How will the PCC work with other police forces and PCCs and national bodies?

The new Act places a duty to collaborate on PCCs and Chief Constables, requiring them to keep under review opportunities to work with other police forces and organisations. The Act also requires the Secretary of State to produce a Strategic Policing Requirement setting out the national criminal threats and the appropriate national policing capabilities required to counter those threats. A first Strategic Policing Requirement has been published in shadow form. The PCC and Chief Constable will be required to "have regard" to the Strategic Policing Requirement in their decisions.

Is this the same as what's happened in London?

No, but it is similar. In London, the Act has already abolished the Metropolitan Police Authority, and passed responsibility for policing to the Mayor of London, creating what is called the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC). The Mayor of London has a range of responsibilities beyond policing, and so a Deputy Mayor will fulfil the MOPC function on a day-to-day basis. The Mayor of London is held to account by the Police & Crime Committee of the Greater London Assembly (GLA). For information about MOPC see here. For information about the GLA’s Police & Crime Committee see here.

How much will PCCs cost?

The government has said that the total running costs for PCCs will be no greater than the total cost of the police authorities they replace. There will be additional costs for the elections every four years. The cost of the first elections in 2012 is estimated at £75 million. In later years, the PCC elections will coincide with some local elections, so the total costs for the PCC elections should be reduced. The cost of the 2012 election will be met by direct funding from the Home Office, with no call on local policing budgets.