The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners

Public accountability

The APCC supports PCCs to provide effective scrutiny of police performance, to increase transparency in policing and in the criminal justice system, and to improve the response to police complaints. 

Related pages:

Member resources

  • PCC Accountability Framework

    The PCC Accountability Framework provides guidance for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) on how to effectively hold Chief Constables to account for delivering an efficient and effective police force. It outlines key oversight mechanisms, performance monitoring strategies, and best practices to ensure transparency, accountability, and public confidence in policing.

  • APCC Equality Framework for PCCs 2024-25

    A structured framework to help Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) meet their legal equality duties, strengthen community relations, and promote fair and inclusive policing.

Helpful links

The PCC’s role is to:

  • Appoint the chief constable
  • Hold the chief constable to account
  • Publish a Police and Crime Plan, following consultation with local communities
  • Set the police budget

The APCC has prioritised the following in our aim to improve public accountability:

  • To further develop the accountability and transparency of the role of PCCs and enable greater openness and accountability on police ethics and complaints
  • To support PCCs to hold their chief constables to account for performance, diversity and for the treatment of people in custody, ensuring the public has a voice in policing and that police forces are accountable to the communities they serve

We provide PCCs with the tools to deliver increased accountability and scrutiny of their local forces, guidance and data to support the APCC Accountability Framework and evidence-based guidance to enable them to fulfil their statutory functions.

The APCC supports members with:

  • New tools and resources to ensure the effective delivery of their statutory duties 
  • A dedicated APCC resource to provide liaison with HMICFRS and to support PCCs and OPCCs with forces in the ‘pre-engage’ or ‘engage’ process
  • Advice, guidance, toolkits, and other resources to help PCCs and OPCCs to hold their chief constables to account 
  • Informed, briefed and impactful PCC representation on national boards and decision-making forums, including the National Policing Board and National Criminal Justice Board
  • Help and guidance for, and analysis of, new Police and Crime Plans

To help achieve this we have worked with members to create a new APCC governance model.