May: I feared we were creating a monster with Police and Crime Commissioner roles
THERESA MAY has admitted she feared she had “created a monster” by introducing Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales.
The Home Secretary said a number of problems had given PCCs a “bad name”, but she revealed the Government planned to extend the policy after the next election for the posts, on May 5.
The roles were initiated by Mrs May in 2012 to give the public a greater say in how police forces are run. In 2014 it was disclosed that more than half of elected PCCs had been investigated by watchdogs, only halfway through their first term. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) looked into more than 40 claims of wrongdoing made against 23 PCCs.
The posts were heavily criticised after a low turnout in the inaugural elections and amid controversy over how some commissioners have behaved.
Mrs May said at a Policy Exchange event: “In 2012, you could be forgiven for thinking that we were creating a monster. And I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times over the last three and a half years when I thought we might have done just that.” She said the PCCs’ future role was not decided yet and there were “significant” opportunities for reform: “The next set of PCCs should bring together the two great reforms of the last parliament – police reform and school reform – to work with and possibly set up alternative-provision free schools to support troubled children and prevent them from falling into a life of crime.”
Mrs May suggested PCC and elected mayor jobs could be merged, “under a single directly elected mayor”.
She highlighted incidents including the initial refusal of Shaun Wright, the PCC for South Yorkshire, to resign following damning revelations of sexual abuse in Rotherham.
She also highlighted a recent dispute between Kevin Hurley, the Surrey PCC, and Lynne Owens, the director-general of the National Crime Agency. Mr Hurley threatened Mrs Owens with the sack when she was Chief Constable of Surrey Police over the force’s failure to protect children. But before Mr Hurley could move to dismiss her she was appointed chief of the NCA in November. Mrs Owens said: “I was selected to my current role by the Home Secretary after a lengthy and thorough process and am now focused on leading the National Crime Agency in its fight to cut serious and organised crime.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “Lynne Owens is one of the exceptional policing leaders of her generation and will lead the NCA forward in its vital role of tackling a full range of serious and organised crime threats, including cyber crime, child sexual abuse, firearms and money laundering.”