Changes to Police Governance and
Accountability
Significant changes in police governance and accountability have
been introduced with The Police Reform and Social Responsibility
Act 2011. The legislation replaces the Police Authority with an
elected Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). On the 5 May 2016 Mr
Marc Jones was elected as the PCC for Lincolnshire. The PCC is
responsible for deciding the priorities and budget for the
Lincolnshire police force and is accountable to the public for the
performance of their police force.
The Act requires the local authorities in each
police force area to establish and maintain a Police and Crime
Panel. The Act requires that the Panel must be balanced in terms of
geography, politics, and the skills, knowledge and experience of
Panel members. The Panel does not scrutinise the performance of the
force as a whole or the Chief Constable as this is the
responsibility of the PCC.
The
Functions of the Police and Crime Panel
The Police and Crime Panel has a number
of powers and responsibilities, including:
-
Scrutinising the actions and
decisions of the Police and Crime Commissioner
-
Reviewing the draft Police and Crime
Plan to ensure local priorities have been considered
-
Scrutinising and commenting upon the Annual Report of the
PCC
-
Reviewing and reporting on the
precept proposed by the PCC. The Panel has the right to veto the
Commissioner’s proposed policing precept (the money collected
from Council Tax for policing)
-
Holding confirmation hearings for
the proposed appointment of a Chief Constable and senior support
staff
Who sits on the Police and Crime Panel?
The Police and Crime Panel consists of ten
councillors from the eight local authorities. The members are
listed below:
Councillor Malcolm G Chandler
Conservative
South Holland District Council
Councillor Geoffrey Hazelwood
Conservative
North Kesteven District Council
Councillor Robin J Hunter-Clarke
UKIP
Lincolnshire County Council
Councillor Graham Marsh
Conservative
East Lindsey District Council
Councillor Mrs Angela Newton
Independent
Lincolnshire County Council
Councillor Mrs Fay Smith
Labour
City of Lincoln Council
Councillor Mrs Anne Welburn
Conservative
West Lindsey District Council
Councillor Stephen Woodliffe
Conservative
Boston Borough Council
Councillor Ray Wootten
Conservative
South Kesteven District Council
Councillor Barry Young
Conservative
Lincolnshire County Council
Two independent co-opted members have also been
appointed through an open recruitment process and are listed
here:
Christopher Cook
Norman Norris
Information regarding the Panel and details of
future meetings are available atwww.e-lindsey.gov.uk/lpcp