Title: The Police Leadership Autonomy Act
An Act to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners and other political oversight bodies, replacing the current appointment process for Chief Constables and Commissioners with a peer-voting system by officers of Inspector rank and above, submitting three candidates to the Home Secretary for recommendation to the monarch, establishing a National Senior Police Committee for accountability, allowing Home Secretary-initiated removal with royal approval on grounds of gross misconduct, and ensuring public transparency through annual reports.
Objective
To eliminate political influence from the appointment and oversight of Chief Constables and Commissioners by disbanding Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and related bodies, instituting a meritocratic voting system by senior police officers, restricting candidacy to current or former police and military officers, removing term limits, ensuring accountability through a National Senior Police Committee and limited Home Secretary powers, and enhancing public trust through transparent reporting.
1. Definition of the Policy
The Police Leadership Autonomy Act shall apply to all Chief Constables of territorial police forces in the UK and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, replacing existing appointment mechanisms with the following:
- Abolition of Political Bodies: All Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), and equivalent politically elected oversight roles across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are dissolved.
- Eligibility for Candidacy: Candidates for Chief Constable or Commissioner must be:
- Current serving police officers from any UK Home Office force;
- Retired or former police officers from any UK Home Office force; or
- Current or former UK military officers from any branch of the armed forces.
- Appointment Process:
- Eligible individuals may nominate themselves for the role of Chief Constable or Commissioner.
- All serving police officers of Inspector rank and above within the relevant force vote by ranking their top three preferred candidates in order of preference via paper ballot.
- Voting occurs at designated local police stations or force headquarters, with voters presenting warrant cards for identification and restricted to voting in the area they serve.
- The three candidates with the highest preference rankings are submitted to the Home Secretary, who selects one and recommends them to the monarch for appointment.
- Term Limits: Chief Constables and Commissioners serve without fixed term limits.
- National Senior Police Committee (NSPC):
- Comprises all serving Chief Constables and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
- May initiate a vote of no confidence in any Chief Constable or Commissioner, requiring a two-thirds supermajority to remove the officer.
- Home Secretary Oversight:
- The Home Secretary may trigger a vote of no confidence in any Chief Constable or Commissioner within the NSPC, requiring a simple majority (50% + 1) for removal.
- The Home Secretary may directly remove a Chief Constable or Commissioner with the explicit approval of the monarch, specifically on grounds of gross misconduct.
- Definition of Gross Misconduct: Behaviour by a Chief Constable or Commissioner that constitutes a severe breach of professional standards, public trust, or legal duty, rendering their continued leadership untenable. Examples include:
- Corruption: Accepting bribes or engaging in financial impropriety (e.g., misusing force funds for personal gain).
- Criminal Conduct: Conviction of a serious offence (e.g., assault, fraud, or perverting the course of justice).
- Abuse of Power: Authorizing unlawful surveillance or excessive force without justification (e.g., ordering mass arrests to suppress lawful protest).
- Gross Negligence: Failing to act in a major crisis, resulting in preventable harm (e.g., ignoring credible intelligence about a terrorist attack).
- Definition of Gross Misconduct: Behaviour by a Chief Constable or Commissioner that constitutes a severe breach of professional standards, public trust, or legal duty, rendering their continued leadership untenable. Examples include:
- Public Transparency:
- The NSPC shall publish an annual report detailing its activities, including the number and outcomes of no-confidence votes, anonymized summaries of reasons for removals, and general oversight trends (e.g., frequency of meetings).
- Reports will be submitted to Parliament and made publicly available online, excluding sensitive operational or personnel details to protect security and privacy.
2. Oversight and Enforcement
A structured enforcement framework ensures the integrity of the appointment, accountability, and transparency processes:
- Role of the Electoral Commission:
- Granted statutory authority to oversee the voting process for Chief Constables and Commissioners.
- Approves ballot procedures, supervises voting at police stations, and certifies results.
- Volunteer regular officers (below Inspector rank) from different forces supervise and count ballots, with no officer permitted to supervise their own force’s election.
- Process:
- Voting: Conducted via secure paper ballots at local police stations or force HQ, with warrant card verification.
- Submission: The Electoral Commission compiles the top three candidates and forwards them to the Home Secretary within 14 days of voting.
- Appointment: The Home Secretary selects one candidate and submits the recommendation to the monarch within 7 days.
- NSPC Votes: The NSPC conducts no-confidence votes in closed session, with results reported to the Home Secretary and monarch if removal is approved, and summarized in the annual report.
- Home Secretary Removal for Gross Misconduct: The Home Secretary submits a formal request to the monarch, citing specific evidence of gross misconduct, with approval or rejection within 7 days. The outcome is noted in the NSPC annual report.
- Transparency: The NSPC submits its annual report to Parliament by 31 March each year, with public release within 14 days.
- Sanctions: Any appointment, removal, or failure to report not adhering to this process is deemed unlawful, with the Electoral Commission empowered to seek judicial review to nullify it.
3. Scope
- Applies to all territorial police forces in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and the Metropolitan Police Service.
- Excludes non-Home Office forces (e.g., British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police) unless explicitly extended by future legislation.
4. Implementation
- Legislation: Repeal the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and amend the Police Act 1996 and other relevant statutes to enact this system.
- Transitional Rule: Existing Chief Constables and Commissioners remain in post until retirement or removal under the new system; vacancies after enactment trigger the new process immediately.
- Cost: Funding for elections, NSPC operations, and report publication drawn from existing Home Office policing budgets and money recovered from removing PCCs and MOPAC, with no additional taxpayer burden.
5. Rationale
This Act depoliticizes police leadership by removing elected intermediaries, ensuring appointments reflect operational expertise through peer voting by Inspectors and above. Limiting candidacy to police and military backgrounds guarantees experienced leadership, while the absence of term limits promotes stability. The NSPC and Home Secretary’s powers, including removal for gross misconduct with royal approval, provide robust accountability without partisan bias, with a clear definition and examples ensuring fairness. Annual NSPC reports foster public trust by offering transparency into leadership oversight. Paper ballots and Electoral Commission oversight ensure a secure, transparent process, reinforcing confidence in an independent police force.
