In July 2020, the government announced a two-part internal review of police and crime commissioners (PCCs) and police, fire and crime commissioners (PFCCs). The first part was to report to the Secretary of State by October 2020 with the second part to commence after the forthcoming May local elections.
As reported in October in this magazine, the first part was to focus on strengthening the ‘Commissioner’ model and in particular its accountability, resilience, legitimacy and scrutiny mechanisms ahead of the May elections. The second part was to expand and strengthen the role of PCCs/PFCCs (and the mayoral variation) focusing on ‘longer-term reforms and the potential for wider efficiencies’ with a view to implementation ahead of the 2024 elections (Murphy & Lakoma 2020).