The Fed Reacts to the Abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners

14/11/2025

The Fed has said that it will continue to raise concerns about retail crime, involving all stakeholders in the police and wider law enforcement, following the government’s announcement that police and crime commissioners (PCCs) would be abolished in 2028.

Shop theft rose by 20% according to the latest government ONS data and when last surveyed, 72% of Fed members reported direct experience of retail crime in the previous year. With that in mind, the Fed has worked closely with PCCs to help them better target this sort of crime and also assist shop staff in reporting offences.

However, the government has decided to abolish the PCC role, which was introduced in 2012, in a bid to cut costs, claiming it had failed to boost transparency and forge efficiency as hoped.

Nonetheless, with the Fed having had recent meetings with the Home Office, the National Business Crime and serving senior police, as well as PCCs, it does not see the nature of its work in this area changing.

The Fed plans to work closely with PCCs for the next two and a half years while they remain in post.