Rupert Matthews has responded to the Government's plans to abolish PCCs

Rupert Matthews, Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland said:

“This is a dark day for the concept of policing by consent.

“We are seeing yet another proposal from a Government in free-fall. There has been no consultation, there is no clarity in today’s announcement, just a last minute dot com idea produced on the back of the proverbial cigarette packet.

“It is a retrograde step that will see policing becoming increasingly detached from the public it is there to serve and will merely encourage the two-tier policing that is so destructive to cohesive communities.

“However, I’m sure that it will be a very popular move with Chief Constables who have never liked the level of public scrutiny provided by Police and Crime Commissioners. They would much rather run their police forces and spend taxpayers’ money without any oversight.

“I wait to hear how the public’s priorities will be taken into account, and indeed, how the force’s performance will be measured.”

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