COMMENT
For they only seek to serve us
Police reform: elected police and crime commissioners
Dr Floyd Millen, director of public affairs think tank yesMinister, discusses the abolition of police authorities and their incoming replacements.
T
here was no grand design for policing in England and Wales; its development was
never logical or systematic but was moulded by the needs and fears of society, evolving over time as needs fluctuated and changed. The transition from watch committees to police authorities, the role of the Justices of the Peace and their powers to appoint chief officers all provided the foundation for the system and structure of policing that we have today.
Through the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, police authorities breathed their last breath and we are witnessing the birth of police and crime commissioners (PCCs). This process has been far from smooth: but reform is necessary!
Never before have we needed the expertise and undivided attention of our police. With the growth and spread of terrorism, trafficking, serious and organised crime, it’s hardly a time to reduce the force. But policing has attracted huge controversy from its handling of civil disturbances and the use of controversial containment and kettling techniques, the application of what some term ‘paramilitary’ tactics, stop and search powers, claims of police ‘victimisation’ vis-à-vis the riots of 2011, our inability as individuals to feel properly policed and protected, plus the role of senior police in the media hacking scandal, have raised questions about accountability. Whether real or imagined, faith in our institutions is haemorrhaging.
As the nation prepares for the first elections of directly-elected police and crime commissioners, we are bound to ask whether these reforms will truly be enough to bring sufficient governance and accountability of the police service to the citizen. Something certainly needs to change; time after time we have seen police authorities fail to bring
20 | public sector executive Sep/Oct 12
real scrutiny to law enforcers, with the line between accountability and cooperation being far too blurred. However, we need to keep sight of the fact that the police only seek to serve us.
Effective reform can never be driven by the need to reduce the deficit. Unlike the home secretary, I believe that police numbers are sacrosanct. However, in order to sustain this position, our police need to be doing the right thing at the right time and to the right people. Sadly, this is where they are failing to deliver.
The killer question
Research shows that there is a huge disconnect between what the police say they are doing and the general public’s experience. I recall recently being stopped on two occasions by two separate police officers.
On both occasions I had my children in the
Above: Most PCC candidates are from political parties: will they be the puppets of their parties, or will they think for themselves?
car. When the first officer approached he was perfectly civil. As I drove off I spoke to my boys about the exchange and why it was important for adults to always remain calm and respectful.
© Centro
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