Introduction to the APCC

Police Authorities are represented at the national level by the Association of Police Authorities (APA).  The APA’s function is to provide Police Authorities with a mechanism to engage with the Government and other partners on national matters. 

Ministers have agreed that the APA is best placed to establish a national representative body dedicated to supporting and representing Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) at a national level when they are elected in November.  The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) will provide the following services to all PCCs:

• Provide advice to candidates from May 2012
• Facilitate a national programme of transition and induction for all PCCs
• Ensure PCCs have a strong and positive national profile
• Provide information on national policing policy issues, and important legislative changes
• Consult PCCs on national issues to help develop policy positions and influence change
• Facilitate the leadership of PCCs on national governance structures such as the National Crime Agency, Newco (Police IT Company) and the Police Professional Body
• Assist PCCs in collaborating to share practice, procure services, and identify ways to achieve efficiencies through working together effectively.

 Background

Policing in England and Wales has been delivered through a partnership involving the Home Office, the police service led by chief constables and senior police officers, and police authorities. This arrangement was designed to ensure that the experience of local policing informed decisions and plans that affected national policy providing an insight based on experience within polices force areas and our communities.

The replacement of Police Authorities with PCCs is intended to strengthen the voice of local people and the accountability of the police service, but for this to happen PCCs must be represented effectively at the national level.

The need for those with a local mandate to help Government make decisions has perhaps never been greater. Soon after PCCs are elected, agreements must be made on a range of important national policing matters including the future of police leadership, recruitment, Counter Terrorism policing and the National Crime Agency.

APCC will initially represent PCC views to the Home Office, which will consult PCCs on these matters between November and March 2013. The Home Office has also recognised the APCC as the organisation responsible for facilitating the engagement of PCCs on various Government boards, so that the experience of local policing informs and influences policy in the public interest.

 Why is a national body to represent PCCs needed?    

It is by coming together that PCCs will be best able to influence change.  A national body will facilitate PCCs’ leadership and maximise their ability to influence at a national level, which will help them deliver to their manifesto. 

PCCs will have an important contribution to make to the governance of national policing services, such as the National Crime Agency, Newco (the proposed national IT procurement service), and Police Professional Body. 

The APCC will support PCCs in providing this leadership at a national level. By facilitating the sharing of best practice and identifying opportunities to collaborate, or procure services jointly, the APCC will help PCCs achieve efficiencies.

If PCCs identify policy barriers to delivering their local plans, the APCC will enable the co-ordinated action that can deliver change nationally.

More information

Who will be the members of APCC?

All elected PCCs will automatically be members of APCC, free of charge, until the end of March 2013. The governing bodies which oversee the non-geographic police forces (British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary, and the Ministry of Defence Police), the City of London Police and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (overseeing the Metropolitan Police) will also be members of the APCC; providing considerable strength in numbers.

How are services provided by the APCC?

The APCC is supported by a small, focused team of policing policy professionals with extensive experience of representing the interests of local police governance bodies (currently police authorities) at a national level.  The team is already heavily engaged in the national landscape and is well placed to brief PCCs, listen to their views, and represent them effectively from day one.

How is the APCC funded?

The APCC will be funded from existing APA resources, augmented from November 2012 to March 2013 by a one-off grant from the Home Office.  The intention is to ensure a structure is in place to represent and support PCCs from the time they are elected, but give them flexibility and freedom to determine their own requirements for a national body in the longer term. 

Can PCCs decide the future of the national body that represents them?

Yes.  In January 2013 PCCs will be given the option of whether they require a national body to represent and support from April 2013, and if so, what services they require, which organisation they wish to provide those services and how much they wish to pay through subscriptions. 

What will APCC provide?     

Website and enquiry service

A new website will be available from June 2012 (www.apccs.police.uk).  This will provide links to all of the information that candidates may need, including policing policy briefings and force performance information.  The site will also include a daily digest of ‘need to know’ stories about policing and PCCs and a repository of useful background information.

The APCC will also provide a telephone enquiry service for all candidates and their staff, and the APCC’s twitter feed @AssocPCCs will provide the latest updates and links to ‘must see’ stories.

National briefing events

The APCC will provide briefing and networking events for interested parties in June and September and facilitate a national induction for PCCs. These events will bring together the key policing and other relevant agencies to provide candidates and their staff with indispensable information about the wider policing landscape in England and Wales.

The APCC will also host events at the national party conferences (Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat) this autumn. 

For further information

Twitter: @AssocPCCs

APCC Programme Manager:  Tania Eagle

Tel: 020 7202 0080 | Email: Tania.eagle@apa.police.uk