Every town should have an elected police commissioner responsible for meeting the needs of local people, a think tank said.

Direct public accountability would deliver a radical shift in how our neighbourhoods are made safe, a report by Policy Exchange said.

The study, Partners in Crime, said a commissioner should be elected to represent each smallest policing area, known as a basic command unit.

It also recommended the abolition of police authorities because few people know who they are or what they do.

Natalie Evans, of the Policy Exchange think tank, said the current police structure, driven by Home Office priorities, is "failing" local communities. She said "anonymous and unaccountable" police authorities should be scrapped and replaced with a commission for each force area made up of elected commissioners.

Mrs Evans added: "The simple reality is that against a backdrop of constrained public spending, and potential funding cuts, we must have a radical reform of the police if the service is to provide more for less."

The 46-page report by the right-leaning Westminster think tank said elected commissioners would hold regular public meetings.

They would also handle complaints and promote close working relationships between those on local authorities and police officers. The reports' authors said the change would release chief constables from government oversight and allow them to respond to community priorities.

The policy would mirror the situation in the United States and its supporters claim it will force senior officers to tackle street crime and antisocial behaviour.

But the changes have met opposition from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), the Association of Police Authorities (APA) and the Police Federation. Former APA chairman Bob Jones said it "will not work" and Police Federation boss Paul McKeever labelled it "sheer madness".

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