"Radical police, shake-up outlined".

"26.07.2010."Rob Garnham, chairman of the Association of Police Authorities, expressed his concerns to BBC News. Plans for a massive shake-up in policing in England and Wales are being outlined by the home secretary".

"A new national crime-fighting agency, to replace the Serious Organised Crime Agency "Soca", is among the proposals. People will also be able to vote in two years' time for locally-elected officials to oversee each police force".

"Shadow home secretary Alan Johnson said police did not back the plans and the "last thing" forces needed at the moment was more upheaval. The Home Office consultation paper - Policing in the 21st century - is a radical blueprint it says is designed to make the service more efficient and accountable".

"Soca will be replaced by the National Crime Agency, which will include a new border police unit, the child exploitation and online protection centre "Ceop" and parts of the National Policing Improvement Agency, which it is thought will be phased out".

"The new agency will focus on cross-border organised crime and drug trafficking, as well as providing support to individual forces".

"MAJOR PLANNED CHANGES".

• Soca to be scrapped.
• Soca replaced by the National Crime Agency.
• Police authorities abolished.
• Elected officials to oversee forces instead.

"Soca was criticised last year when figures showed that for every £15 of public money it spent, just £1 was recovered from criminals".

"Its chairman, Sir Stephen Lander, said seizing assets was not the "be all and end all" and said the body had also stopped gangs using an additional £460m. At a local level police authorities, which currently hold the 43 forces in England and Wales to account, are set to be abolished".

"Elections will take place in May 2012 for police and crime commissioners to replace them. Their replacements will have the power to set police force budgets and hire and fire chief constables".

"BBC home affairs correspondent June Kelly said the commissioners will be permitted to run on a party political ticket, but the day-to-day running of forces will remain in the hands of chief constables".

"Analysis".

"Dominic Casciani BBC".

"Fighting crime is complex in the 21st century and comes down to three challenges: the most efficient way to patrol streets, how to ensure officers are accountable, and how, at the same time, to combat threats like organised crime".

"Labour tried to meet two of these challenges with its neighbourhood policing agenda and the creation of the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It backed off from forcing mergers on some of the historic 43 forces in England and Wales".

"The new government says its plan will deliver more joined-up thinking nationally along with more efficiency and accountability locally. Communities worry about crime they see on their streets - and no doubt that would be at the heart of any future elections".

"The big policing question is not just one of political control. It is whether the structures will help chief constables to not only fight street crime but also to target the unseen hand of organised crime that often lies behind it".

"Ministers believe money will be saved by the new approach, our correspondent added. Mr Johnson criticised the plans. He told the BBC: "You have to think, what's the problem they're trying to solve here?".

"The last thing the police need at a time when, by all the signs, they're going to have cuts in their numbers, they're having some of their powers reduced... is this kind of serious upheaval which could, lead to chief constables and the local constabulary being politicised".

"Co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Justice, Tom Brake, said: "These proposals should lead to both more accountable and more effective policing".

"But elected police commissioners will need to be subject to tough checks and balances. "These proposals should not be seen as a green light for the election of 'Judge Dredd' characters more interested in populism than effective co-operative policing".

"Richard Garside, director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at Kings College London, said there had been "fresh concerns" over the need for police accountability. Mr Garside told the BBC: "Lots of people would agree that there is a need for greater accountability of the police and greater transparency".

"He added that this was especially the case following the death of Ian Tomlinson, who died after being pushed by a police officer in London during G20 protests. No charges have been brought against the officer involved".

"Mr Garside said that in terms of the plans to scrap Soca, it would be interesting to see if it was "anything more than a re-branding" of the agency. However, the plans have already met resistance from police authorities - which face abolition - and some senior police officers".

"Last year, head of the Chief Constables' Association, Sir Hugh Orde, said police chiefs may quit if directly-elected commissioners were forced on them. He told the BBC that police independence was "absolutely critical".