The UK government wants to replace the existing unelected local Police Authorities that currently supervise Chief Constables with Commissioners elected by ordinary citizens who live in the area
“The current model with police forces accountable to police authorities simply doesn’t provide the public with the mechanism for holding their police service to account.
A singly elected representative means a responsive voice to local people, both visible and accountable – an elected individual charged with being the voice of some of the most vulnerable people, particularly those who are victims of crime.
Somebody who ensures those voices are heard and acted upon at both the local and national level.”
Many high ranking police officers are squealing about this because they enjoy the cosy relationship they have with the great and the good who are appointed to police authorities. They don’t want their priorities being questioned by local residents – it might mean they would have to start concentrating on dealing effectively with the 2% of scumbags who make life a misery for the 98% law abiding folk who pay taxes and obey the law.
But that is a step too far for Labour and Liberals in the House of Lords.
They argued commissioners should be chosen by a police and crime panel from among its members and not elected – a position supported by a majority of 12 in a vote at the end of the debate.
Lib Dem peer Baroness Harris, who lead the opposition to the plans, said they posed “great risks to policing” and raised doubts about who would have the power to hire and fire chief constables.
So – a bunch of unelected Labour and Liberal members of the House of Lords are doing their best to undermine the attempt to introduce elected local police commissioners.
Yeah, right….
The consensus is that having single-elected commissioners who can just hire and fire chief constables at will would be a disaster”
Au contraire – I would say that’s the consensus of the cosy cabal of the great and the good who just love to tell us that they know what we want better than they do.
The BBC could hardly restrain it’s glee when reporting this temporary elitist triumph. After all it’s very existence depends on distancing itself from the unwashed masses (while growing fat on the tax it extorts from them)
So here’s another idea. Put the BBC under the beady eye of a commissioner elected by licence payers.
That would make them smudge their mascara….
