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| Herbert: Support Growing For Commissioners |
28-Jul-10
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| Policing and Justice Minister tells PoliceOracle.com that senior officers are warming to policy…... |
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It has divided police professionals and politicians, prompted heated exchanges and generated hundreds of column inches in newspapers – and the debate over Directly Elected Police and Crime Commissioners shows no signs of abating yet.
The government’s argument for abolishing police authorities in favour of an elected individual is straightforward – the move would improve local accountability, give voters a greater say and raise the profile of those responsible for law enforcement.
Critics, on the other hand, are concerned that the idea will politicise the police – particularly as candidates will be able to stand on party political grounds – and could allow those with extreme views into a position of authority.
In setting out its stall in the Policing in the 21st Century consultation paper ahead of the introduction of the Police Reform and Crime Bill in the autumn, however, the government points out that there will be comprehensive checks and balances in place – including measures to ensure the operational independence of Chief Constables will not be compromised.
The government believes that Chiefs will actually have greater professional freedom, including the appointment of all of their top management team.
“In our view there is now actually a lot of support for what we are doing, from senior officers through to other stakeholders,” Policing and Justice Minister Nick Herbert said in an interview with PoliceOracle.com. “We have had successful discussions with the Association of Police Authorities and ACPO – people recognise the government has a mandate and we wish to pursue reform.”
“In terms of carrying out elections for these individuals, our firm view is that we very much trust the public to make informed choices. The polls will be very similar to national elections and will take place over wide geographical areas – frankly I don’t think that the likes of the BNP will stand a chance.”
Although the government has attracted controversy for allowing members of political parties to stand for election, Mr Herbert stressed that senior officers will still retain their full operational independence – whoever is in power.
“It would be wrong in principle and unworkable for me to try to prevent people standing for political parties, although nobody is stopping independents from coming forward – I think it would be a good idea if they did,” he said. “I would especially welcome any ideas for how they can be given more of a voice.
“But clearly it is important that – whatever the political colour of the Police and Crime Commissioner – the police will still operate independently as they currently do in London even if there is a change of mayor.”
Despite the assurances, however, Shadow Home Secretary Alan Johnson has already said that the Labour Party will oppose the move and is confident that the forthcoming legislation will face a rough ride through both the Commons and Lords.
But should the Bill be successful – and Mr Herbert believes the coalition government’s “good majority” will see it enshrined in law for the first elections in May 2012 – the incoming commissioners will secure their mandate for a fixed four-year tenure. They will only be able to serve two terms.
The successful candidates will be able to appoint a support team to carry out their role and will have powers including the hiring and firing of Chief Constables, setting the Force budget and agreeing a local strategic plan.
But the government consultation document also points out that commissioners will have a wider remit for collaboration with other forces, playing their part in “balancing local priorities and pressures with cross-boundary action at both national and regional level”. It is not yet fully clear how this will work in practice.
Importantly, however, Mr Herbert pointed out that there will be a package of measures to scrutinise the actions of commissioners as well as a system to ensure that they can be removed if they are behaving inappropriately.
New Police and Crime Panels, made up of elected councillors and independent and lay members in Force areas, will be able to examine the actions of the elected individuals, advise them on policy and budget issues and make any of their objections public. In the worst cases, the IPCC will be able to be called in to investigate the commissioner and the individual can be removed if serious misconduct is found to have taken place.
It has also been confirmed that HMIC is also set to be strengthened, with inspectors having the remit to “shine a light” on commissioners in the same way as they do with the rest of the police.
Although the elected individuals will have significant powers, it has been confirmed that the Home Office will retain jurisdiction over events of national importance, such as the policing of the Olympics and the response to a national crisis.
In addition there will be no commissioners for the Met, on the basis that accountability is already strong, or the City of London Police. The Metropolitan Police Authority will be abolished and the Greater London Authority will fulfill the role.
As national forces, the British Transport Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and MoD Police will also remain outside the system and will not be overseen by elected individuals.
As the government continues to pursue a radical overhaul of the police – including the creation of a new National Crime Agency and the phasing out of the NPIA – the creation of directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners is likely to be the lynchpin of a new system of governance.
Mr Herbert is convinced that the change has to be decisive and that the critics will be proved wrong. “In my view, Alan Johnson – like some of the press reporting on this subject – is months out of date,” he maintained.
“The Association of Police Authorities and ACPO have not rejected this outright, and have welcomed the fact that we will preserve operational independence – we believe that this is the way forward and we will pursue it.”
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