Tomorrow 15th November 2012 is an historic day with the election of the first Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales and here we examine whether this change is necessary and beneficial to our local communities.
The local Police have been accountable to no-one. In Brighton today if someone writes to the Chief Constable with a complaint an inspector is allocated to write one letter only justifying the Police’s actions, and no further correspondence will be entered into.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has been described as ineffectual at best and a former Home Secretary described his department as “not fit for the purpose.”
The Sussex Police Authority is a little known organisation lacking credibility and providing little visible control over the activities of any rogue Police chiefs.
The traditional safeguard of our democratic freedoms has always been our Members of Parliament. Sadly from 1997 ineffectual Labour MPs allowed any Police rogues to flourish unchecked. Since 2010 the situation has greatly improved with Brighton’s two MPs, Kemptown’s Simon Kirby and Pavilion’s Caroline Lucas being standard bearers in the fight for fair play and decency in public life.
But there is only so much they can do and we need a new broom to sweep this Aegean stable clean.
That is the role for the new Police and Crime Commissioner. In this new election a number of candidates have come forward. As it is so new, does it really matter which party they are from? Surely the calibre of the individual is more important.
Katy Bourne is old enough to be wise and young enough to be filled with optimism for the future. She speaks confidently in public and has the energy to get out and about meeting people and get things done.
As we have no predecessor to judge her by, the community has to go with what it has. Katy Bourne is the most visible of the candidates. She is hard working and clever enough to spot the rogue cops from the decent ones.
the-news.co thinks she should be given a chance to succeed and so we will be supporting her tomorrow.
