Police Authority respond to Government Paper
View West Mercia Police Authority response to the Government consultation paper 'Policing in the 21st Century'
The key messages:
| 1. Commissioners’ elections and referenda will be very costly at a time of constraints upon police funding. |
| 2. Commissioners as proposed will simply be ineffectual unless the boundaries around operational independence are revisited. |
| 3. Public expectations around Commissioners are likely to focus on 'local operational delivery' and ‘complaints’. The Commissioner appears to have very limited powers in these areas. |
| 4. The changes risk the politicisation of policing. |
| 5. A single Commissioner cannot adequately represent or engage in large police areas with an adverse effect on localism. |
| 6. The proposed changes will be a distraction for Forces at a time when they need to respond to severe financial constraints. |
| 7. There is no evident public demand for this change. |
| 8. Whatever the perceived benefits can the country really afford this costly reform? |
17 September 2010 - Response to the Government Paper 'Policing in the 21st Century'
