South Devon MP Caroline Voaden has welcomed the Government’s decision to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), but warned that transferring their powers to elected Mayors risks creating “weakly scrutinised” policing structures.

The Liberal Democrat MP said her party had long argued that the PCC model — introduced in 2012 under the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition — was expensive and ineffective. While the coalition created the role, senior Liberal Democrats at the time expressed reservations about directly elected commissioners and pushed for stronger local scrutiny panels instead.

Reacting to the Home Office announcement, Voaden said the Government was right to scrap the current model but criticised its chosen replacement.

“I am glad the Government has finally arrived at the conclusion the Liberal Democrats reached years ago and decided Police and Crime Commissioners should be scrapped,” she said. “But giving PCC powers to Mayors, who have dubious democratic mandates and little scrutiny, is not the way to bring this failed Conservative experiment to an end.”

Voaden argued that policing powers should instead be transferred to crime and police boards — bodies typically made up of councillors and independent members — which she said would offer more accountability than a single political figure.

She also raised concerns about funding for frontline services, particularly in rural areas such as South Devon.

“Resources wasted on costly PCCs should go into what really matters – improving frontline policing, properly staffing community policing and rural crime teams, and continuing funding for survivor support services, some of which currently comes via PCC offices,” she said.

The Government says abolishing PCCs will save £100m by 2028. Ministers argue Mayors offer clearer accountability, though several regions — including Devon and Cornwall — currently have no established mayoral structure.

The reforms are expected to take effect by 2028, though further detail on how they will operate in non-mayoral areas has yet to be announced.