English devolution and the transfer of police and crime powers

The government’s devolution agenda in England will change the landscape of how policing and crime is governed. New mayors, with multi year funding and responsibility for a broad policy remit across their regions, are set to take on powers currently held by police and crime, and in some cases fire, commissioners. They will be responsible for holding the police to account, setting police and crime plans and budgets and become the elected voice of the public in policing.

This document aims to help answer the question of how to manage successful transfers of P(F)CC functions and guide areas where devolution is happening. We outline challenges and opportunities for policing governance in mayoral models and the design considerations that need to be made as new authorities are being established. We set out implications for managing the transition process itself and broad recommendations for central and local government and others involved in the process.

The pace and scale of devolution are ambitious, with five priority areas set to elect mayors and potentially transfer Police (Fire) and Crime Commissioner (P(F)CC) functions by May 2026. Planning needs to happen now to give new mayors clear options and outline plans for how to incorporate policing and crime functions and make early, informed decisions that will help to keep their communities safe. Learning from existing mayoral areas, some of the major decisions new mayoral authorities should consider are:

• Governance: appointment of a Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime and how they should work with the mayor, where fire and rescue will sit and how to get a strong grip on the complex finances and risks that come with policing.
• Organisation design: whether to directly transfer existing Office of the Police (Fire) and Crime Commissioner (OP(F)CC) roles or spread them across the mayoral authority, how to ensure the right staff support for policing and crime and where to place it.
• Culture: how far policing teams should be integrated into the wider culture of the mayoral authority and what the shared vision is
• People: whether pay, grades and terms will be harmonised and what people’s roles will look like
• Performance and scrutiny: how to maintain strong policing performance and oversight throughout transition and what role the Police and Crime Panel will play
• Infrastructure and technology: what ICT and physical space policing and crime will share with the mayoralty, and what should be uncoupled from the constabulary

This project was commissioned by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), delivered by Leapwise, and overseen by a steering group comprising the APCC, the Association of Police and Crime Chief Executives (APACCE) and the Local Government Association (LGA), with Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) input.