Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) would be scrapped under a Labour Government as part of plans to save £800m and protect frontline policing.
Unveiling its crime and justice manifesto, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said PCCs were expensive and pledged to redirect money to safeguard 10,000 police officers and PCSOs over the next three years.
The party said it would also make savings by shaking up police governance, through joint procurement and via more shared support services.
A new ‘local policing commitment’ would be introduced to ensure forces guarantee neighbourhood policing in every area, it said.
Cooper said the current Government’s ‘extreme plans’ had undermined neighbourhood policing.
‘Police officers and PCSOs work with communities to tackle everything from anti-social behaviour to extremism,’ she said. ‘That relationship between police and communities is the crucial building block of British policing by consent – it prevents crime, catches criminals, protects victims, builds trust and community cohesion around the rule of law.
‘That’s why Labour is determined to protect neighbourhood policing and we are setting out a plan to do it.’
