Monday 01 Oct 2012 @ 16:25
Association of Police and Crime Commissioners
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‘Preparations for PCCs should reassure the public’ – APA responds to report of Independent Inspectorate

The Association of Police Authorities has issued the following statement in response to the publication (at 16.00 on 28.09.12) of HMIC’s report into Police Authorities’ preparedness for the transition to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) this November:

“We are delighted that HMIC has recognised that police authorities have make “considerable progress…. with  strong support”  towards ensuring that elected PCCs can get a grip of the police budget and operate within an effective, transparent governance framework from day one. HMIC’s praise for the work of authorities and their national partners including the Association of Police Authorities and the Transitional Board of the Association of PCCs (APCC) is a tribute to the members and staff concerned and should provide reassurance for both candidates and the public ahead of this seismic change in policing oversight.

The APCC’s handy guide ‘PCCs: The essential first 100 days checklist’, launched at APCC events at each of the party conferences (25.09, 02.10 and 09.12) provides PCCs with a useful guide to their first few weeks and sets out the carefully laid foundations that will help them to make an early, positive impact for the public.”

Notes to Editors:

  1. Press contact: Nathan Oley, Head of Press and Public Affairs, 07714 399 760 / Nathan.oley@apa.police.uk
  2. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary visited all 41 police authorities to assess their readiness for their becoming the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner on 22nd November 2012. The full HMIC report ‘Preparing for Police and Crime Commissioners’ can be found here: http://www.apccs.police.uk/page/hmic-reports-asb
  3. The Association of Police Authorities (APA) represents police authorities in , and , as well as the British Transport Police Authority, the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, and the Ministry of Defence Police Committee.
  4. The APA has been commissioned by the Home Office to provide a co-ordination and representation function for all Police and Crime Commissioners and police governance bodies from November 2012 as part of a smooth transition from police authorities to elected Commissioners. This work is being developed by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ Transitional Board at the APA.
     
  5. Local police authorities, along with the Home Secretary and chief officers of police, make up the tripartite relationship which is responsible for the governance of policing in and .
     
  6. Police authorities are currently made up of local people: a mix of local councillors and independent members (selected from the community) of which one must be a magistrate.
     
  7. The tripartite partners are the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities.
     
  8. The job of police authorities is to: 
    • Consult with local communities to find out what they want the local police to do 
    • Set the strategic direction for policing locally and decide what the police should focus their attention on locally, based on consultations with local communities
    • Set the budget for their police force, and decide how much local people should pay for policing in the local council tax
    • Make sure the police force is continuing to do a better job
    • Appoint (and, if necessary, dismiss) chief constables and senior police officers 

Nathan Oley | Head of Press and Public Affairs | The APCC Transitional Board, APCC and Association of Police Authorities, APA | 07714 399 760 | 3rd Floor, 10 Dean Farrar St, London, SW1H 0DX | www.apccs.police.uk / www.apa.police.uk | @AssocPCCs / @assocpoliceauth

 

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Are you registered to vote? Police and Crime Commissioners will be elected on November 15th and replace regional Police Authorities outside London on 22.11.12.

 

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