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Ministers will abolish elected police and crime commissioners, declaring them to be an expensive failure, with a large proportion of people unaware of them.
Under the system, introduced under the Conservatives in 2012, all 43 police forces covering areas across England and Wales had to answer to an elected official. It was supposed to boost the accountability and performances of police forces.
But critics, especially police chiefs, said the commissioners too often tried to interfere and were ineffective.
The abolition is a victory for chief constables and a sign of how influential they are in the Labour government’s thinking about policing.
It also makes the merger and abolition of local forces, which chiefs want and government is considering, potentially easier.
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood said: “The introduction of police and crime commissioners by the last government was a failed experiment.
“I will introduce new reforms so police are accountable to their local mayoralties or local councils. The savings will fund more neighbourhood police on the beat across the country, fighting crime and protecting our communities.”
The government promised £20m of savings would go directly back into policing, and abolition would save at least £100m over this parliament.
The next elections for PCCs, scheduled for May 2028, will be scrapped. It comes as local government is also being changed with more mayors being introduced.
The government said two in five people still did not know PCCs existed; turnout at the last elections for the posts was below 25%, and mayors were four times better known by the public than local PCCs. Some new mayoralties to be elected next May are expected to fall to Reform UK.
Matthew Scott, the Conservative PCC in Kent, told the Guardian the abolition was a victory for police chiefs: “There is a crisis at the top of policing, with chiefs facing a record number of accusations of wrongdoing, and the government has given them more power.
“This is swapping an elected PCC for an appointed one. It is a bit of a mess and removing democracy.”
Scott said Labour PCCs were furious, and in a statement the chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, Emily Spurrell, attacked the lack of consultation and said: “For more than a decade, directly elected police and crime commissioners have transformed policing accountability and delivered essential support services for victims of crime. Having a single, visible local leader – answerable to the public – has improved scrutiny and transparency, ensuring policing delivers on the issues that matter most to local communities.”
Chief constables felt while some PCCs were good, too many were erratic and some dismissed as “second rate” local politicians.
Some chief constable posts remained empty for a long time because of PCC’s dithering it was claimed, and the churn of chiefs increased.
Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “Democratic accountability of operationally independent policing is essential. Bringing strong, integrated local leadership and the voice of communities into our service is a vitally important part of policing by consent.”
PCCs were introduced when Theresa May was home secretary and were influenced by America’s electing of key local officials and part of an idea of running services via localism. In policing that meant central government would not tinker in local forces.
But Labour believes a strong central Home Office is needed, with confidence falling in law enforcement and some forces solving fewer than one in 10 crimes.
The abolition of PCCs will be in a police reform bill that the government is promising, but which is much delayed because ministers are struggling to find the money to fund the more meaningful measures.
Tiff Lynch, chair of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: “PCCs were an expensive experiment, which has failed. The tens of millions of pounds they cost should instead be a down-payment for the sort of policing service this country and its police officers deserve … The forthcoming police reform white paper is a chance for this government to show it is serious about all of this.”
