Government pledges to maintain the operational independence of the police must now be tested again the “practical reality of Directly Elected Police and Crime Commissioners”, the President of ACPO has emphasised.

Responding to the Home Office consultation document ‘Policing in the 21st Century: Reconnecting the Police and the People’, Sir Hugh Orde said the promise to maintain the integrity of Chief Constables was of “critical importance”.

But he stressed that the detail of proposals to create Directly Elected Police and Crime Commissioners would need to be examined to see how their role would work in practice.
¬Today also presents an opportunity to establish ACPO as a professional leadership body¬
Sir Hugh said: “The consultation document recognises the increasing complexity of policing, from the local to the national, from the visible patrolling to serious crime and terrorism.

“There are a number of new elements proposed which will now require careful consideration, in particular the role of the National Crime Agency, and how greater collaboration across the service can be achieved to drive the necessary savings.

“Today also presents an opportunity to establish ACPO as a professional leadership body, with a governance and accountability structure we have consistently requested.”

But while Sir Hugh said the police had a “can do attitude”, he stressed that any reform needed to add value to the “critical service we deliver that keeps communities safe”.

Meanwhile a spokesman for the Police Federation said that most of the government’s proposals currently out for consultation had already been known. He added: “We now need to plough through the detail of the report.”

As reported on PoliceOracle.com, Home Secretary Theresa May announced proposals for a radical reform of policing to the Commons yesterday.

The Policing in the 21st Century Document, which will be out for consultation until September 20, includes plans to introduce Directly Elected Police and Crime Commissioners and a new National Crime Agency. Under the plans the NPIA will also be “phased out” over the next two years.

Following the consultation, the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill will be put before MPs later in the year, the Home Office has confirmed.