Recommendation 29

HM Government Deferred

Reforms implemented by the then Government in 2014 require any learning recommendations by the IOPC to forces to be published. Under the same legislation, forces are required to respond within 56 days and their responses must be published. IOPC publishes an annual impact report on improvements to policing flowing from its recommendations. The Government will consider, in conjunction with the IOPC, how it might be possible to go further in tracking progress by forces on implementing the IOPC’s recommendations and reporting on this. The role of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) is to be the voice of the people and hold the police to account. PCCs have been elected by the public to hold Chief Constables and the force to account, effectively making the police answerable to the communities they serve. The internal review into the role of PCCs has provided an opportunity to look more closely at how the Government can strengthen the accountability, transparency, resilience, legitimacy, and scrutiny of democratically elected PCCs. The Government has announced the recommendations via two written ministerial statements and is now working closely with policing, justice, and wider public safety partners to implement these. Recommendations which will enable PCCs to hold their Chief Constables accountable include making the Chief Constable suspension and dismissal process (Section 38) more rigorous and transparent and consulting on potential changes to the Policing Protocol Order 2011 to clarify the roles and responsibilities of PCCs and Chief Constables. The transparency of PCC performance and how they are driving force performance and holding the Chief Constable to account has also been improved by the recommendation from the Review to amend the Specified Information Order (SIO). The amended SIO, which came into force on 31 May 2021, places a duty on PCCs to publish certain information within specified timeframes, to ensure the public have the information they need to hold their PCC to account at the ballot box. The amended SIO now includes a requirement for the PCC to provide information, in a prominent place on their website, on: information relating to the force’s performance against the Government’s national priorities for policing, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) performance reports on the force and, data on complaint handling.