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The purpose of this paper is to review the establishment of this new type of elected official and the conduct of those in office during the first twelve months of their official existence, and to consider whether a compelling case has yet been made for its retention as the principal method of police governance.

The paper will review policy papers and data which preceded and followed the establishment of the office of police and crime commissioner (PCC) in November 2012; review the 2012 elections and their implications, review conduct since, particularly in respect of formal duties, principally setting budgets and police and crime plans; consider the potential for politicisation; and consider whether a case has been made for the retention of the office in future.

The paper concludes that the government has succeeded with PCCs in implementing a major plank of the Conservative party's 2010 manifesto. It can reasonably be anticipated that the Conservatives will promote this record at the next election. However, it is simply too early to tell if PCCs are individually or collectively adding value to the sum of policing in England and Wales. A compelling case for their retention as a means of police governance is therefore yet to be made. On the other hand, Labour has still to determine whether it will offer the electorate an alternative in 2015.

With only ten months having elapsed since the first elections, it is early to draw firm conclusions about the effectiveness or, more pertinently, the added value that PCCs have brought to policing. Conversely, the first twelve months was an opportunity for PCCs to make a positive impression and this has not occurred.

PCCs ought to be subject to a rigorous appraisal of effectiveness. This is unlikely, for political reasons, to occur.

First rigorous review of PCCs based on a review of available data.

This paper aims to present an application of location optimization techniques for deploying police facilities subject to budgetary and feasibility constraints. The objectives considered included minimizing the distances and maximizing the coverage of police stations over potential crime spots.

The optimization consists of two stages. In Stage 1, a minimum distance model is used to determine the locations of police stations. Given the locations of police stations, Stage 2 uses a maximum coverage model to determine the police patrol area. The framework is applied to a case in the Greater London Area. The authors also evaluate the resilience of the optimal solutions with the terrorist attack scenario on 7 July 2005 in Central London.

With the optimization models, it is shown that the average distance between police stations and potential crime spots is reduced by 19 per cent. The coverage percentage of potential crime spots is also increased from the existing 91.99 per cent to a nearly perfect 99.82 per cent. Nevertheless, the results reveal that the optimal police resources deployment is less resilient with respect to the existing one. The findings herein suggest the importance of incorporating measures of resilience into the optimization framework and the authors leave this topic for further investigation.

The study highlights the value of location optimization to police force deployment in terms of finding the optimal locations of police force with respect to the spatial distribution of crimes. In particular, the authors investigate its implication on urban resilience, which is among the first study of this kind.

Our perceptions of real crime, law and justice can be manipulated by fiction. This chapter addresses whether The Archers helps us better understand today's offenders, their crimes and its policing. Some of Ambridge's known offenders are split into three categories to help explore whether usual criminal story lines and characters, seen and heard elsewhere, are perpetuated or subverted in Borsetshire. If they support usual tropes, this tells us how we view the management of crime in the twenty-first century rural idyll: outsiders are not to be trusted, the misdemeanours of the pastoral poor are tolerated, and the actions of elites brushed aside. In Ambridge, we regularly hear examples of reintegrative shaming supporting desistance from crime. Those propping up the Bull's bar might disapprove of criminal actions, but they recognise people's roles in village cohesion. Sgt. Harrison Burns preserves his identity as a dedicated police officer. Being a rural copper often means having to deal with a wide range of crimes – from attempted murder to anti-social behaviour – but on a less frequent basis than those based in Felpersham. While Harrison might not have great detective skills, he regularly supports colleagues from specialist units, and as the only officer in the village, should use his social networks and tea spots to help maintain Ambridge's mostly orderly conduct. It is questionable to what extent he does this, being at times perceptive about and dismissive of clues to significant criminal activity going on under his nose.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the opportunities and challenges provided by the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), and particularly the prospects for enhanced public accountability of policing as a result. It considers how the new accountability framework might work in practice and in comparison with the existing arrangements of Police Authorities and highlights the key accountability relationships on which success is likely to depend.

The paper draws on a range of published research on public accountability and applies the key ideas to the particular context of police governance and accountability.

While the plans for directly elected PCCs have proved controversial, the overall view is that the new approach to police governance deserves its chance because it seems to offer at least some potential for stronger public accountability. Much depends on the three key accountability relationships and probably it will take some time for clear, significant and lasting impacts to show themselves. But in four years time, when the next round of elections are due, the nature of the challenge of injecting more effective public accountability into policing will be better understood.

The paper offers conceptual insights on the governance and accountability framework for policing, both as currently exists and as is intended with directly elected PCCs. It also highlights the three key accountability relationships which lie at the heart of the new arrangements and upon which success, to a large extent, will depend.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the Police and Crime Commissioners have been scrutinised in their first nine months in office, focusing primarily on one particular force area.

A brief analysis of the most current writing on this topic, including official documents such as minutes of police and crime panel meetings and Home Affairs Committee and Welsh Affairs Committee evidence sessions, as well various online news sources are provided. Academic literature spanning 30 years is also drawn upon.

In considering particular major events in the first nine months of the implementation of Police and Crime Commissioners, central government have been required to take a more prominent role in scrutiny in certain regions than first envisaged, due to ambiguity of legislative guidelines.

As an exploratory paper, one force area (Gwent) is the primary focus, sampled because of the issues faced in that area and its widespread coverage in the media.

Problems with the legislative guidance for Police and Crime Commissioners, Police and Crime Panels and other involved agencies and individuals are highlighted.

The paper contributes to the body of research investigating how the new policing governance framework in England and Wales is unfolding in practice. It is informed by both academic perspectives and real life examples.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). It seeks to analyse the policies put forward by the candidates and evaluate the significance of the elections for the future landscape of policing.

The research for this paper is library based, making particular use of primary source material. The objectives for this research are organised around key themes – preparations for the elections, the election contest, the election campaign and key issues that were raised, the election results and the significance of the introduction of the office of PCC for the future landscape of policing.

The research established that most candidates put forward policies that would seek to skew policing towards combating low level crime and disorder. It highlighted issues relevant to the future landscape of policing, including the relationships forged between chief constables and PCCs, the politicisation of policing and the extent to which PCCs are held adequately accountable for their actions.

The research focuses on the 2012 PCC elections and identifies a number of key issues that may need to be addressed in the future, either by academic or political investigation.

The research suggests that future PCC election contests should receive improved publicity and attention should also be paid to the candidates’ deposit. It suggests that the future operation of the office should be subject to thorough investigation by the Home Affairs Committee.

The creation of the office of PCC was designed to empower communities and those who resided within them. However, this goal cannot be realised without effort on the part of government to urge their involvement in future PCC election contests.

The subject matter is original and its interpretation is informed by both academic and practitioner perspectives.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the 2016 elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and to compare them with those that took place in 2012. It seeks to evaluate the background of the candidates who stood for office in 2016, the policies that they put forward, the results of the contests and the implications of the 2016 experience for future PCC elections.

This paper is based around several key themes – the profile of candidates who stood for election, preparations conducted prior to the contests taking place, the election campaign and issues raised during the contests, the results and the profile of elected candidates. The paper is based upon documentary research, making particular use of primary source material.

The research establishes that affiliation to a political party became the main route for successful candidates in 2016 and that local issues related to low-level criminality will dominate the future policing agenda. It establishes that although turnout was higher than in 2012, it remains low and that further consideration needs to be devoted to initiatives to address this for future PCC election contests.

The research focusses on the 2016 elections and identifies a number of key issues that emerged during the campaign affecting the conduct of the contests which have a bearing on future PCC elections. It treats these elections as a bespoke topic and does not seek to place them within the broader context of the development of the office of PCC.

The research suggests that in order to boost voter participation in future PCC election contests, PCCs need to consider further means to advertise the importance of the role they perform and that the government should play a larger financial role in funding publicity for these elections and consider changing the method of election.

The rationale for introducing PCCs was to empower the public in each police force area. However, issues that include the enhanced importance of political affiliation as a criteria for election in 2016 and the social unrepresentative nature of those who stood for election and those who secured election to this office in these contests coupled with shortcomings related to public awareness of both the role of PCCs and the timing of election contests threaten to undermine this objective.

The extensive use of primary source material ensures that the subject matter is original and its interpretation is informed by an academic perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) within the new constitutional arrangements for governing police forces in England and Wales.

Desktop research of the web pages of PCPs, combined with documentary analysis of reports of panel meetings and a literature review of relevant academic materials.

During the first year of their operation the role of the PCP in the new constitutional arrangements for governing police forces in England and Wales has been widely criticised. This paper explores reasons that may impinge on the effectiveness of these local bodies to scrutinise how Police and Crime Commissioners discharge their statutory functions. In particular, it draws attention to the limited powers of the panel, the contradictions of the “critical/friend” model of scrutiny, the extent of political alignment between “the scrutinisers” and “the scrutinee”, and the ability of the latter to constrain the scrutiny function of the former.

This paper is the first to explore the scrutiny role of PCPs in the context of the research evidence regarding the development and use of scrutiny within the local government context.

The organisational and service delivery landscape of the emergency services in the UK has been rapidly changing and is facing further change in the foreseeable future. The purpose of this paper is to examine recent and ongoing organisational changes in the policy development, service delivery and regulatory landscape of the emergency services, in order to capture the overall picture and potential opportunities for improvement or further investigation.

This general review utilises the characteristics of the three domains of a national framework, namely, policy development, service delivery and public assurance, and uses these characteristics as lenses to examine the three main blue light emergency services of police, fire and ambulances.

What emerges in the organisational landscape and conceptual maps for the police and even more so for the Fire and Rescue Service, is the immaturity of many of the organisations in the policy and the public assurance domains while the service delivery organisations have remained relatively stable. In the relatively neglected ambulance services, we find the NHS’s recent Ambulance Response Programme has considerable potential to improve parts of all three domains.

The review is limited to the UK and primarily focussed on England.

The review identifies opportunities for improvement, potential improvement and further research.

Although the National Audit Office has attempted in the past to provide organisational landscape reviews of individual emergency services, this contemporary comparative review of all three services using a common model is unique. It provides considerable new insights for policy makers, service delivers and regulators.

The criminal justice system (CJS) in England and Wales went through extensive reform under the Coalition Government of 2010-2015. In this paper, and through the lens of policing, prisons and probation, the authors set out to identify the direction and qualities of these reforms. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The authors review key policy documents produced by the Coalition Government as well as relevant critiques. The authors concentrate on policing, prisons and probation on the basis that interrogation of these major aspects of the CJS should enable the principles underpinning the Coalition’s approach to the CJS to be discerned.

The authors identify key themes, and their contradictions, that emerged in the Coalition Government’s approach to the CJS, these being: devolution and centralism; marketization with a growing emphasis on payment by results; politicisation and de-politicisation; and, evidence-based policy.

This is a review of recent government policy and as such some of the implications and outcomes resulting from that policy are not yet clear.

This paper will be of particular use to those working in or studying UK criminal justice policy. Given that the majority partner in the Coalition went on to form the current government policy trends from the recent Coalition are likely to have some relevance to current government policy making in the CJS.

To date there have only been limited attempts to identify key policy trends emerging from the Coalition Government.