18 July 2008
Plans to introduce direct elections into local policing present a host of dangers, police authorities have warned.
As Public Finance went to press, the Home Office was preparing to publish its green paper on police reform. This is widely expected to propose that an individual be directly elected to oversee local services, as Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in his draft legislative programme in May.
But Bob Jones, chair of the Association of Police Authorities, said such controversial ideas held potential risks for the future of policing.
'Direct election would reintroduce party politics to local policing; this is something local people do not want,' he said. 'There is also a very real danger of extremists and single-issue pressure groups targeting these elections for their own ends.'
The Local Government Information Unit, however, said the debate was over and the case for strong local democratic leadership for policing had been made.
Chief executive Andy Sawford said: '[Sir Ronnie Flanagan's] review of policing identified police accountability as a key decision for ministers, and we are confident that responsibility will not be sidestepped.
'But not all forms of local democracy are equally effective. To ensure that the proposals in the green paper help rather than hinder the cause of local democracy and improve local services, we have set our four tests for any new proposals. Local policing should be more democratic, but it should also be efficient, joined-up and closer to communities.'
The New Local Government Network think-tank struck a more cautious note, saying it had major concerns about the proposal. 'It might be a good green paper for devolution but we fear it won't be good for local government,' a spokesman told PF.
The NLGN this week issued a report calling for more local authority control over neighbourhood policing, particularly if knife crime and gang violence are to be tackled. Gangs at the grassroots, published on July 17, says a centralised, target-driven approach failed to account for the diverse nature of many gangs.
NLGN director Chris Leslie said: 'Different local problems demand differing local solutions… By giving elected council leaders control over local neighbourhood policing, communities would have a direct say over where gang-related issues are tackled and how successful police are in stopping it.'
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