Police and crime commissioners are to be scrapped across England and Wales in a bid to save £100m, the government has said.

Announcing the change in the Commons on Thursday, Policing Minister Sarah Jones, said the model had 'failed to live up to expectations' and had 'not delivered what it was set up to achieve'.

Instead, they will be replaced by either an elected mayor or revert to the previous system of having a police committee when the current commissioner terms come to an end in 2028.

Though its stated aim was to make forces more accountable to the areas they serve, the costs of the system and the effectiveness of commissioners has long been criticised.

Sarah Jones added: "public understanding [of PCCs' role] remains low despite efforts to raise their profiles” adding less than a quarter of voters turned out to vote for them last year, and two in five people are unaware they even exist.

In 2024 Dafydd Llywelyn representing Plaid Cymru was re-elected as Dyfed-Powys Police's commissioner.

This was the fourth time Police and Crime Commissioner elections had been held, with the first election taking place in 2012.

The Dyfed-Powys force area covers the counties of Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Powys.

Current commissioner for Dyfed-Powys, Mr Llywelyn earns £68,202 a year, with his North Wales Police counterpart Andy Dunbobbin, on an annual salary of £73,000.

According to UK Government ministers, the saving will allow them to invest an extra £20m in front-line policing every year, equating to an extra 320 police constables a year.

First elected in 2012, PCCs oversee non-operational aspects of policing such as managing their local policing budgets and holding the chief constable to account.

Introduced by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government, they replaced police authorities.

Although candidates can stand as part of a political party, police and crime commissioners (PCCs) are required to swear an oath of impartiality before taking office.

There are currently 41 commissioners across England and Wales.

Reacting to the announcement, Police Federation of England and Wales National Chair, Tiff Lynch, said: “We welcome this announcement and look forward to helping shape whatever accountability structures replace directly-elected police and crime commissioners. PCCs were an expensive experiment which has failed.

"The tens of millions of pounds they cost should instead be a down-payment for the sort of policing service this country and its police officers deserve – one with enough officers, with experienced police officers who can afford to keep doing the job, and where officers facing immense stress are properly supported when they put their lives and bodies on the line to protect all of us.

“The forthcoming Police Reform White Paper is a chance for this government to show it is serious about all of this.

“The Police Federation’s Copped Enough campaign is calling for urgent action to recognise the unique demands of policing, a real plan to keep experienced officers on the beat and protecting our communities with proper recognition of the dangers officers face such as better mental health support.”

Abolishing Police and Crime Commissioners must be accompanied by the full devolution of justice and policing to Wales, Plaid Cymru has said.

There are currently 41 commissioners under the system, introduced 12 years ago by former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron.

Plaid Cymru has long argued to abolish the role of Police and Crime Commissioners but its justice spokesperson in the Senedd Adam Price MS said the move must ‘be accompanied by the full devolution of justice and policing powers’.

Mr Price said Labour had dragged their feet on the devolution of justice and policing for Wales for years, despite three independent commissions all fully supporting ‘the transfer of justice powers to Wales’.

The Plaid Cymru spokesperson called on the Labour government to formally request those powers and to ‘stop waiting for Westminster’s permission to deliver justice for our communities’. He added a Plaid Cymru government in Wales would be ‘resolute’ in demanding the powers to build a better justice system for Wales.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson for justice Adam Price MS said: "Plaid Cymru has long argued for the abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners, due to our strong belief that policing should not be politically motivated. We therefore welcome today's decision, but this must be accompanied by the full devolution of justice and policing powers.

"Establishing a distinct Welsh legal system and ensuring our police forces are accountable to the Senedd would be vital steps towards a fairer Wales and a confident, self-governing nation. Yet Labour have been dragging their feet for years, showing a complete lack of ambition for Wales.

“Over a quarter of a century since devolution, Wales remains the only devolved nation without its own legal system and powers over its police forces. There is no rational basis for that.

“In the past decade, three independent commissions, including most recently the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales, have all fully supported the transfer of justice powers to Wales. Their message is clear: the system should be simplified, and responsibility should sit where accountability already lies - here in Wales, where the decisions impact us most.

“The Labour Government in Wales must now formally request those powers and stop waiting for Westminster’s permission to deliver justice for our communities. Plaid Cymru government if elected next year will be resolute in standing up for Wales and in demanding the powers we need to build a fair and effective justice system that truly serves our people.”

Speaking in the House of Commons earlier, Plaid Cymru MP for Caerfyrddin, Ann Davies added: “Today’s statement makes crystal clear the absurd complexity of an England-and-Wales justice system.

“The UK Government will look to the Welsh Government to help replace the PCC system in Wales – but has refused that same government powers over policing.

“Does the Secretary of State now concede that the Welsh Government is best placed to control policing in Wales – and that devolving the entire justice system to Wales makes the most logical sense?”