Police Authority (England and Wales)
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| Police Authority (England and Wales) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Police Authority (England and Wales) |
| Type | Statutory body (former) |
| Formed | 1964 (Police Act 1964, modern successors 1994–2012 changes) |
| Dissolved | 2012 (Abolished by Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011) |
| Jurisdiction | England and Wales |
| Predecessors | Standing Advisory Council on Police Training, Watch Committees |
| Superseded | Police and Crime Commissioners, Home Office |
| Headquarters | Varied by force area (e.g., London, Manchester, Birmingham) |
Police Authority (England and Wales) was a statutory corporate body that governed territorial police forces in England and Wales until 2012. It exercised oversight, budgetary control, and strategic direction over police forces while interacting with chief constables, local councils, and national institutions. The authorities were shaped by statutes and reforms that connected them to institutions such as the Home Office, the Crown Prosecution Service, and local councils.
History
Police authorities evolved from nineteenth- and twentieth-century institutions including Watch Committees, the Metropolitan Police Authority, and county-level bodies shaped by the Police Act 1964 and Police Act 1996. Reforms in the 1980s and 1990s involved actors such as the Home Secretary, the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice, and the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994, which redefined governance alongside entities like the Law Commission and the Crown Prosecution Service. High-profile events and inquiries including the Hillsborough Independent Panel, the Macpherson Report, and the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry influenced expectations of oversight and engagement with bodies such as the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Audit Commission. The 2000s saw interactions with the Cabinet Office, the National Policing Improvement Agency, and the Association of Chief Police Officers until the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 replaced authorities with elected Police and Crime Commissioners, reflecting debates in Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Local Government Association.
Structure and Composition
Police authorities were composed of appointed and elected members drawn from local government and independent lay members, reflecting arrangements that involved county councils, unitary authorities, and the Greater London Authority. Composition rules derived from statutes influenced by ministers at the Home Office and committees such as the Association of Police Authorities and the Local Government Association. Members often included magistrates, councillors, and independent members whose selection involved panels akin to those used by the Judicial Appointments Commission and influenced by guidance from bodies like the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the Electoral Commission. In metropolitan areas, authorities interfaced with institutions such as the Greater London Authority and the Metropolitan Police Authority, while rural force areas coordinated with county halls in places like Cardiff and Manchester.
Powers and Responsibilities
Statutory powers derived from the Police Acts and subsequent secondary legislation empowered police authorities to set local policing priorities, approve budgets, and appoint senior officers including chief constables subject to Home Office and College of Policing frameworks. Responsibilities included performance management in relation to targets set by ministers, commissioning of community safety partnerships alongside Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, and collaboration with prosecutorial bodies including the Crown Prosecution Service and courts such as the Crown Court. Authorities also had duties connected to equality and human rights instruments influenced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and compliance with obligations under instruments shaped by the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act.
Accountability and Oversight
Police authorities were accountable to multiple institutions including the Home Office, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, and parliamentary select committees such as the Home Affairs Committee. Oversight mechanisms included external audit by the Audit Commission, scrutiny by local councils, and complaints channels via the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Interactions with watchdogs such as the Information Commissioner's Office and the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism informed data-handling and counter-terrorism liaison. Authorities were also subject to judicial review in the High Court and decisions of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court when legal disputes involved statutory interpretation or human rights claims.
Interaction with Chief Constables and Police Forces
Police authorities governed relationships with chief constables under the doctrine of operational independence, a principle reinforced by reports from the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice and guidance from the College of Policing. Authorities held chief constables to account for performance, discipline, and strategic implementation while avoiding operational interference, interacting with regional aggregation structures such as Regional Organized Crime Units and national bodies like the National Crime Agency and National Policing Board. Coordination with unions such as the Police Federation and with bodies including the Federation of Small Businesses occurred where workforce and community policing matters overlapped.
Funding and Resource Allocation
Authorities set precepts on council tax in coordination with billing authorities and determined police force budgets informed by Home Office grant determinations, Comprehensive Spending Reviews, and inputs from HM Treasury. Financial control and capital programmes required compliance with accounting standards promoted by CIPFA and oversight by external auditors and parliamentary auditors. Funding decisions influenced procurement involving suppliers and were constrained by frameworks linked to the National Audit Office, European funding instruments, and public sector borrowing rules administered by the Treasury.
Criticisms and Reforms
Critiques of police authorities highlighted perceived democratic deficit, opacity, and variability between areas; commentators included figures in Parliament, the National Audit Office, and civil society organisations such as Liberty and Justice. High-profile incidents and inquiries involving bodies like the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the Macpherson Inquiry, and coronial findings drove calls for reform from stakeholders including mayors, local councils, and think tanks such as the Institute for Government. The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, championed in debates at Westminster and interactions with the Electoral Commission, replaced authorities with elected Police and Crime Commissioners, a reform assessed by academics from institutions like the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford and evaluated by inspectorates and parliamentary committees.