Scrapping PCCs is 'outrageous' and 'inexplicable'

Conservative Philip Seccombe has been police and crime commissioner in Warwickshire since 2016

Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) covering the West Midlands and Warwickshire forces have respectively called the government's decision to scrap the elected role "inexplicable" and "a kick in the teeth".

The home secretary called the system a "failed experiment" and said when England and Wales' 37 commissioners' terms ended in 2028, their responsibilities would move to elected mayors or council leaders.

Warwickshire PCC Philip Seccombe complained he and others were given just 90 minutes' notice before the announcement, branding the level of consultation "outrageous".

His counterpart for the West Midlands force Simon Foster also criticised engagement from the government.

"The government has chosen to announce its decision without any prior consultation or engagement with PCCs," said Foster, Labour.

"That is inexcusable, inexplicable and unacceptable."

Seccombe, Conservative, said: "I think it is outrageous that a decision of this magnitude has been imposed with no consultation or public engagement."

The pair also suggested that losing the roles would be damaging.

PCCs ensured oversight and scrutiny, said Foster who represents people living in Coventry, Birmingham, the Black Country and Wolverhampton. He added that abolishing people's right to vote on the position would "significantly weaken democratic accountability".

West Midlands PCC Simon Foster said the lack of consultation was "inexcusable"

Seccombe, a former councillor in Stratford-upon-Avon, was first elected as Warwickshire PCC in 2016 and re-elected for a third term in May 2024.

"The announcement to abolish PCCs is deeply disappointing and can only make policing less accountable and more remote from the communities it serves," he said.

"The government offers very little detail on what comes next or why this would represent a step forward."

He added he was concerned what the decision meant for the future of staff in his office.

The Home Office has said fewer than 20% of voters could name their PCC and money saved by abolishing the role would allow for an extra £20m of investment in front-line policing every year, enough for 320 constables.

However, Seccombe said the contention PCCs only had a small mandate ignored that turnout for PCC elections was "broadly comparable to local authority and mayoral elections".

Meanwhile, Foster pointed out more than 327,000 had voted for him, more than for either of the region's two leading mayoral candidates.

He added he had seen no evidence to justify the "claimed savings" and an additional £20m would only mean 16 more officers in the West Midlands, which already had "about 700 fewer police officers than we did in 2010".

'A kick in the teeth'

Seccombe argued PCCs had transformed the governing of policing, which faced being "undone by a return to a more distant committee model or a remote deputy mayor that lacks accountability and visibility".

He highlighted his office's "outstanding results", which included securing £2.8m funding a year for victims' services.

"It feels like a kick in the teeth to see that swept away based on spurious justifications," he said.

Both men said they remained committed to fulfilling their roles while they lasted, with Seccombe adding he would be seeking further answers from the government.

Foster's office said the shift had not brought additional change to the conurbation as "it was already the government's intention to drive through a transfer" of the PCC function to the West Midlands Combined Authority in 2028.