Some thoughts on Police Commissioners

I was interested to hear the debate on the Today programme this morning about the proposed new police commissioners.  In the red corner was John Prescott, who is aiming to fill the post in Humberside.  In the blue was an ex-police chief, who clearly did not think much of the idea.   The police, he claimed, were accountable enough already and change, particularly if it involved political intervention, was unnecessary.

Coincidentally, I recently spoke to a person who is contemplating seeking a nomination for the Suffolk Police Commissioner Post.  He was interested in my opinion due to the work I have been doing with the Babergh Community Safety Partnership. 

As we spoke about the potential for the role, I realised that I do believe the Police Commissioner idea is a good one.  People that I meet seem to feel that the police as an organisation are not particularly ‘citizen friendly’ (although this attitude often changes when they meet individual officers or PCSO’s). The culture of the police as a uniformed organisation with a strict and somewhat inflexible hierarchy is sometimes hard to mould to the requirements of a community that has raised expectations that its views will be listened to. 

My personal relationships with the police in Sudbury have not suffered from too much rigidity, and, by and large, my suggestions and comments have been met with pragmatism.  However, I have been in something of a special position, and have found the Sudbury team very user friendly on the whole.   However, even in these benign circumstances, there have been times that I have felt that there is something of a gulf between the police’s view of the world and everyone else’s.

If the Police Commissioner can become the people’s voice in this sphere this can really only be a good thing.  He will hold the purse strings, and be able to decide where the balance between prevention of crime and response after the event should lie.

I am convinced that many of the projects undertaken by Community Safety Partnerships, often using very limited resources, do make a real difference with regard to the prevention of crime.  I am also convinced of the value of the community engagement events supported by the Safer Neighbourhood Teams.  I just hope that whoever becomes the Police Commissioner in Suffolk understands the importance of these initiatives and gives them appropriate emphasis.  If he does, I believe that he will be a genuine representative of the people.