Police & Crime Commissioners (PCCs)
Annette Ashley
Women’s Resource Centre
Funded by the Home Office. Managed by Clinks, registered charity No.1074546, Company limited by guarantee, registered in England, No.3562176
About Women’s Resource Centre
• National support body for the women’s sector
• We provide training, information, resources
and one to one support
• We lobby decision makers on behalf of the
women’s sector for improved representation
and funding
• We have over 400 members
Police and Crime Commissioners
• Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act
2011, introduces elected Police and Crime
Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales,
from November 2012
• New Police and Crime Panels, comprising local
authority representatives plus two
independents, scrutinise PCCs, replacing
Police Authorities
PCC powers and responsibilities
• Hold the Police Service to account
• Appoint the Police Commissioner/Chief Constable
• Publish statutory 5 year Police and Crime Plan, and
an annual report of progress against the Plan
• Determine local policing priorities
• Set a local precept and set the annual force budget in
consultation with the Chief Constable
London is different!
• Mayor of London acts as the PCC
for London and appoints a Deputy
to carry out the role
• Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) heads a
new department, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and
Crime (MOPAC)
• New London Assembly Police and Crime Committee
replaces Metropolitan Police Authority, acting as
Police and Crime Panel to scrutinise the work of the
Mayor, his DMPC and the MOPAC
PCC powers and responsibilities
• Able to commission services from outside the police
force. They will act as commissioners for all local
victim support services
• Work with Chief Constables and local partners such
as probation, health, education and local voluntary
organisations to not only fight crime and antisocial
behaviour, but to prevent it
• Oversee Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs)
Safer Future Communities Project
• Home Office funded project November 11 –
March 13
• Aims to support VCS in England and Wales to
engage and influence the PCC in their area
• National partnership, led by Clinks
SFC Network activities
• Development of a local SFC Network of VCSE
organisations in each police area to engage with the
PCC, including on the development of local Police
and Crime Plan, and also with the Commissioner as a
commissioner of services
• Support the Sector to develop the case, specifically
the business case, for retention of existing services
and new approaches
Network activities continued…
• Convene thematic consultative groups for
commissioning processes
• Support VCOs and SEs in obtaining contracts to
deliver services, including formation of consortia
• Work collaboratively with other VCS organisations,
networks and forums
• Develop Network structures and processes for
member representation, consultation and activity
How could the election of PCCs impact upon
women and their organisations?
• The Community Safety Fund (CSF) will be
transferred from the CSP to the PCC. Existing
funding streams to address VAWG will be
diverted to this new fund and will no longer
be ring-fenced. PCCs will determine how and
if VAWG services get funded
• What can women’s organisations do?
• Engage with SFC local network lead
• Organise strategy meeting with women’s orgs
in their region
• Organise/attend hustings events and ask what
they will do to tackle violence against women
and girls if elected
• Tweet/follow the candidates
• Distribute WRC/EVAW/RC flyer
What we are asking PCC candidates to commit
to…
• Making VAWG a top priority in their Plan
• Funding women’s services
• Consulting women’s groups to develop a
VAWG strategy and then appoint a senior
person to lead
• Running public campaigns to challenge myths
and stereotypes about VAWG
• Do say: this fits into the
Coalition’s broader localism
agenda, which aims to give
power back to local
communities and ensure they
have a role in improving
community safety and reducing
crime
• Don’t say: it’s back-door
privatisation of the police and a
transfer of responsibility for the
spending cuts to local police
forces…
For further information or support please
contact the Women’s Resource Centre
My contact details:
Annette Ashley
Tel: 020 7324 3058
Email: annette@wrc.org.uk
Twitter: @whywomen