Elected Police and Crime Commissioners: an experiment in democratic policing

Thesis

In this thesis, I explore the ways in which Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have met a declared policy intention to create greater democratic accountability around policing and crime. I conceptualise PCCs as a piece of a broader democratic puzzle and explore both how they have been positioned and shaped within the broader policing and crime nexus across England and Wales. In considering the positioning of PCCs, I use data from case studies and interviews with 32 (out of 41) PCCs to identify how they have begun to develop relationships with the public and local, regional and national partners. The findings suggest that with the exception of their abilities to join up local crime reduction services, PCCs occupy an awkward space – not local enough to be meaningfully representative of the public they serve, but not outwardly-facing enough to manage wider co-ordination of policing. Subsequently, I investigate the shape of the PCC model to deliver greater accountability by focusing on the ways in which PCCs have begun to envisage the role and develop relationships with other key stakeholders. Varied responses from PCCs across the country reflected the broad-ranging nature of the role, which in some cases appeared to undermine their ability to fully perform all aspects of the job. I argue that this became particularly accentuated in emerging relationships with chief constables and Police and Crime Panels, where the single PCC model exposes accountability to dangers of personalities and politics. I conclude by arguing that while many PCCs have facilitated various components of democratic accountability within the management of policing and crime-reduction services, the PCC model appears to be misplaced and misshaped to effectively complete the puzzle of democratic policing.

Authors: Davies, M

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Police
• Subjects: Criminology