Book review: Police and Crime Commissioners: The Transformation of Police Accountability
| Author | Yuma Okada |
| DOI | 10.1177/1748895817702032 |
| Published date | 01 September 2017 |
| Date | 01 September 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book review |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895817702032
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2017, Vol. 17(4) 503 –504
© The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/1748895817702032
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Book review
Bryn Caless and Jane Owens, Police and Crime Commissioners: The Transformation of
Police Accountability, Policy Press: Bristol, 2016; 256 pp.: 9781447320692, £70.00 (hbk),
9781447320708, £24.99 (pbk)
Reviewed by: Yuma Okada, King’s College London, UK
‘[T]he most radical change in policing for half a century’ (Home Office, 2010: 10) was
realized in 2012; in order to enhance democratic accountability Police Authorities were
replaced with directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), who are sup-
posed to appoint and remove chief constables, issue policing plans and control police
funding. The book Police and Crime Commissioners: The Transformation of Police
Accountability is a work that dares to analyse how the novel police governance bodies
have worked. The authors have attempted to perform this analysis by interviewing both
PCCs and members of the chief police officer teams in confidence.
The book first explores the process in which the police reform took place, with accom-
panying explanations of key concepts such as governance and accountability. The second
chapter analyses the first election of PCCs in 2012, highlighting the responses of PCCs
to lower than expected voter turnout. Many of the interviewed PCCs expressing irritation
at being challenged in this respect stated that the next election would show different
results. In the third chapter, the diverse nature of relationships between PCCs and chief
officers is observed. The fourth chapter investigates the relationships of PCCs with the
Home Office and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). What is notewor-
thy here, is the difference in the views of PCCs on the Home Office; some PCCs perceive
their relationships with the Office as ‘productive’ while others cast rather detached eyes
on it (p. 101). The fifth chapter examines how PCCs have dealt with the media and com-
municated their policies with the public. While it is essential for PCCs to handle the
media well, it is revealed that not all PCCs have been successful in doing so. This chapter
also quantitatively examines the use of social media by PCCs. In the sixth chapter, the
issues of what is remitted to PCCs, how PCCs have been involved in setting budget and
policing priorities, and what their relationships with Police and Crime Panels have been,
is explored. The seventh and final chapter concludes with reflections from PCCs on their
jobs and what their role should be in the future. It would be remarkable here that several
PCCs share an idea that in the long run they should be responsible for ‘the whole of the
local delivery of criminal justice’ (p. 200).
702032CRJ0010.1177/1748895817702032Criminology & Criminal JusticeBook review
book-review2017
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