Who Needs Critical Friends? Independent Advisory Groups in the Age of the Police and Crime Commissioner

Abstract

Abstract In the early 2000s, many police forces in England and Wales set up independent advisory groups (IAGs) following an inquiry into the flawed investigation of the murder of a black teenager, Stephen Lawrence, by London's Metropolitan Police. Members of IAGs were to act as critical friends of the police providing independent advice on policies, procedures and practices, thus ensuring that no section of their local community was disadvantaged through a lack of understanding, ignorance or mistaken beliefs. Based on a case study of an IAG in an English police force, this article reviews the operation of IAGs following the radical changes made to police governance by the introduction of directly elected police and crime commissioners (PCCs). Its main argument is that more thought needs to be given to the role of IAGs in this new landscape and urgent steps taken to clarify their relationships with police forces and PCCs.