Michael Howard has detailed plans to replace police authorities with directly elected commissioners.

Police commissioners will be created in 42 of the 43 police force areas - with the Metropolitan Police Service to remain the responsibility of the home secretary and mayor of London.

The new commissioners will have the power to appoint and dismiss chief constables, although senior officers will retain operational control over their force.

They will also set annual and three year targets for their forces.

Crime focus

The move comes as the parties seek to flesh out their plans to combat crime.

The Conservatives say the move will give the public a greater say in the way their areas are policed.

Local police authorities, which comprise councillors and magistrates, would be scrapped under the plans.

The party said: "A directly-elected police commissioner will be a much clearer way for local people to have an influence on policing than the current police authorities, which are appointed, not elected, and whose function is often unfamiliar to the people they represent."

The commissioners will also consult with local people regarding police needs, set budgets and agree the element which should be raised through the council tax precept.

Critics, however, warn that the move could put control of the police in the hands of single issue groups.

Michael Howard was due to set out his plans during a wide-ranging speech on crime in Manchester.

Speaking ahead of his address, the Conservative leader said the move would address the public's concern about policing.

"I want people to have a say and I want the police to be accountable to local people," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"I want to remedy the gap which has emerged between the police and the local people which they serve."

Lib Dem attack

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten said the Tory proposals were "a dangerous idea which could lead to all sorts of extreme groups being elected to run local policing".

"It could create conflict between chief constables and elected officials leading to a breakdown of effective community policing," he said.

"The Tories are right to point out that local people have too little control over policing.

"But a far better system would be for already elected councillors to draw up a minimum policing guarantee with a chief constable rather than just adding another tier of bureaucracy."