CRIME and policing representatives could be elected in Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham to sit on the South Yorkshire Police Authority and ensure local crime problems are resolved.
They would also decide how some police funding is spent.
But the Association of Police Authorities warns extremists such as the British National Party could hijack elections.
Chairman Bob Jones said: "Elections would reintroduce party politics
to policing. There is a very real danger of extremists and single-issue pressure groups targeting these elections for their own ends."
That was dismissed by the Home Office, which said: "We believe voters will treat the opportunity seriously."
The proposals are contained in a green paper, 'Policing Our Communities Together', which also sets time limits for police to respond to calls, in the same way as the ambulance service.
Officers must respond to emergencies within 15 minutes, "priority cases" within one hour, telephone calls and e-mails within one day and attend non-emergency calls within two days.
It also pledges to cut bureaucracy - particularly the "stop and account" form, to be replaced by beat officers recording information by radio.
Directly-elected leaders would be created for each of South Yorkshire's Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, which also include local councillors, the fire service and health trusts.
Elected heads of these partnerships would make up the majority on the police authority and replace local councillors. If an area ag-reed in the future to directly elect a mayor, that politician would also be a CPR.
Doncaster's mayor would, therefore, automatically be handed beefed-up powers over policing.
But Charles Perryman, chairman of South York-shire Police Authority, said: "We have some reservations about the proposals, such as directly elected members of the police authority and potentially more complex lines of accountability.
"The Home Office seems assuming that if you change something it will automatically lead to improvement. The structure of local policing isn't a problem."
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