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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 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 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 study aims to explore the effect of the home country institutional environment on firms’ outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) and how it is affected by institutional environment differences across home country subregions. Drawing on transaction cost theory, this paper examined the relationship between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Chinese firms’ OFDI, as well as the moderating roles of local government officials’ career horizons and state ownership.

A sample of 5,018 Chinese firm-year observations with foreign investment activities was used over 11 years to estimate a panel-feasible generalized least square regression model.

The results show that the BRI improves Chinese firms’ OFDI in countries along the BRI route. Furthermore, this positive relationship is weaker for firms where provincial officials have longer career horizons and is stronger for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) compared to non-SOEs.

The findings confirm the positive effect of home country institutional environment on firms’ OFDI. Furthermore, the multiple government perspective offers new insight into the effects of the home country’s institutional environment on OFDI.

This paper aims to explore the potential impact on policing by consent and trust in the police of diminished political and generalised trust.

This paper draws on a range of academic literature on trust, the legal foundations of policing by consent, police occupational culture, disproportionality and neighbourhood policing.

An analytical framework is developed by recognising that policing by consent can be conceived as comprising two complementary facets, police state consent and police citizen consent and drawing lose mappings between police state consent and political trust and police citizen consent and generalised trust. This supports the argument that the importance of tackling disproportionality in policing practices and an increased emphasis on neighbourhood policing are not only valuable for reasons recognised in existing literature but also because they may bolster policing by consent in circumstances of reduced political trust and contribute to increased generalised trust across society.

This paper builds upon existing work on trust in the police and policing by consent to give novel insights into the importance of neighbourhood policing and tackling disproportionality. The analytical frame developed also highlights new areas for nuanced research questions in the field of trust and provides grounding from which policy objectives for policing can be developed.