UK Regional Police and Crime Commissioner

[DaveB]

Hi Chaps..

I've just come back from 'doing my duty' by voting in todays poll to elect a Regional Police and Crime Commissioner and with 7 hours of the polls being open, I was the 29th person to vote Not much enthusiasm for it me thinks Point is.. you ask most folk who is standing for the position and what it is they're going to be doing and few know the answer to either. Seems a bit of a waste of time

ATB
DaveB

[Garry Russell]

It's a bit like General Elections where the winning party get 33/34% of the votes. That means for everyone who voted for them two didn't want them but either voting elsewhere or not at all.

So they get in with twice as many not wanting them and then the country is moaning again that their chosen ones are not doing the job, but they were not really chosen for the reasons above so it's starting off as a bad result...but who's fault is that?

[speedbird591]

Well done, Dave. That's the spirit

I have a postal vote so I sent it in last week. I was disappointed that none of the candidates had bothered to send out election addresses and I had to do an online search to find out who was standing and what they stood for.

I feel very strongly that police commissioners are very necessary. Unfortunately, the police in general (not Eddie, obviously ) can't be trusted to police themselves. There have been too many incidents where internal inquiries have left a suspicion of something rotten in the cupboard. An independent commissioner, to whom the chief constable is answerable, is the first step. The next step is to be able to recruit senior officers externally rather than promotion through the ranks (or the the Masonic Lodge).

I for one will feel happier that I have an independent public servant who I can go to if I've been treated unfairly.

Right. That's me lined up for a few traffic violations and boots through tail lights and a quick trip down the stairs at the police station

Ian

[DaveB]

No.. we only had one candidate address shoved through the letter box and that was from a Labour candidate.. nothing at all from the other 5. I should have voted for the Labour chap as he was the only one who bothered but I couldn't bring myself to do it The chap in the Polling Station said that for 'normal' elections, they send out voting forms for around 60% of the residents.. top whack because they know folk CBA. For THIS one, he had voting forms for each and every one of the folk eligable to vote at that station.. somewhere in the region of 1000 bods.
Wonder how many it's gone up from 29.. well, 30 as SWMBO was with me since 1500. Recycling bins outside Polling Stations across the country are gonna be full by 2300 this evening

ATB
DaveB

[Vancouver]

This is an awful thing to be foisted on you all. An unnecessary extra level of beaurocracy - look at the the graphic at the BBC website as to how it works. Secondly an unneccesary public expense, each of these individuals will be getting 75,000 (no pound sign here) per annum, not to mention the hidden costs of expenses and staffing. It is also a dangerous precedent in the politicisation of the police. How long before one jurisdiction cannot enter another rival but politically opposite jurisdiction in the pursuit of a rogue, vagabond or other dangerous miscreant. Do you really need someone with no policing experience or knowledge in charge. I am appalled at the thought of that self serving thug Prescott in charge of police. It is a political fop to make people believe that they have been missing out on someting all these years. Compare London you say, well the Metpol commissioner is a Royal appointment and not an elected official. Though the politics can be argued there. I think the last apolitical Commissioner in truth was Sir Robert Mark.
The police don't want it, the public don't need it and at a time of alleged austerity, the economy could well do without it. And before you say what do I know about it? I take a 30 year pension out of the UK which has been diminished by over 30% these past 4 years in the exchange rates. I pay tax there so am entitled to some say I reckon, but I don't have any voting rights as to what Westminster does with my tax money. I'm so glad I'm out of it.

[airboatr]

Ian,

Rob's a goodn' too.

[VEGAS]

There's been a distinct lack of interest nationwide in relation to this.

I think that's a fair reflection on the general public's thoughts on the matter as a whole.

Who cares who's in charge as long as the jobs done and done well?

Personally I don't think a politician should have such a responsibility. Especially one with little or no Policing experience.

Its fraught with danger.

Although currently the morale in the job is at an all time low, so many of the staff are willing to try something new.

Only time will tell, but I have serious concerns that the proposals are massively flawed.

[Garry Russell]

Politicians are good for this as long as they work with the police to ensure the support and resources are there to do the job properly

Help the police do the job, not tell them how to do it.

[VEGAS]

True Garry.

I must say that the Government isn't exactly flavour of the month with the job at the minute.

Many feel betrayed and let down by a government that is supposed to be behind our Police Service.

Sadly, the recent Windsor recommendations have potentially sealed the fate of the Police as we know it.

It'll need something pretty special to turn the job around.

[TSR2]

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to vote as we seem to have been lost somewhere in the electoral system when we moved house. They are sorting it out, but not in time for these elections. IMHO its another unnecessary level of bureaucracy. The regional police forces already have an element of input from local councils who are supposed to help address local issues. IF we believe there is a need for a police commissioner, it should be a central function providing an even handed approach across all Police forces in England and Wales. Its a significant waste of public funds and this money would be better spent tackling issues of the day. We have enough jumped up little Hitlers on local councils without having someone else who can lord it over us. While I agree that on occasion the Police don't do a good job of policing themselves, I'd say they are substantially better than they were 20 years ago. There will always be people in society who abuse positions of trust where that be police officers, doctors, politicians etc, but I don't see how localised "Crime Commissioners" provide anything useful to the community or the police, they simply add more red tape and drain more money away from where its needed.