Sir Hugh Orde of the Association of Chief Police Officers has warned that police chief constables may resign if the police are brought under political control, as proposed by the Conservative Party. He says that operational independence is essential and that political influence over how our streets are policed is undesirable.
Is it not normal that the public has a say over how they are policed? Do citizens not pay the salaries of police officers? Do citizens not suffer the consequences of crime? Do citizens not vote for political representatives to run public services? Why should the police be an exception?
At the moment policing is divorced from the priorities of citizens. The priorities are politically imposed from very high above. For the last ten years or so the priority seems to have been political correctness.
I am a ward councillor for Hyde Park Ward in Westminster, which include the west side of the Edgware Road. The Edgware Road is of course a centre for citizens of Middle Eastern origin. Virtualy all are hard working law abiding citizens. But time and time again I have seen how the police adopt a very peculiar style of policing whenever there is trouble on the Edgware Road. The trouble is almost always caused by outsiders. On the Edgware Road far more is allowed than elsewhere.
Policing is systematically done in an über-sensitive way – presumably to shield the police from any possible spurious allegation of discrimination or racism. Political correctness rules at the expense of protecting the public. What the residents living around it – of whatever origin - have to suffer is apparently quite irrelevant. Typical is the non-intervention by the police when there are for example noisy celebrations for whatever Middle Eastern event. Often these result in disorder on the streets. Often the police just stands by and watches. There are exceptions.
As a ward councillor one is quite powerless. The only thing you can do is to beg the police to maintain law and order. The only weapon you have is their goodwill.
Some progress was made when the Metropolitan Police introduced ward panels: regular meetings between local police and local citizens to set priorities. But this suffers from the usual non-representative nature of (often self-styled) community representatives. Councillors elected by all are put on an equal footing with individuals who often do not represent anyone but themselves.
Boris and GLA Member Kit Malthouse (responsible for the Metropolitan Police) are trying to introduce democratic control over the Metropolitan Police. The Conservative Party wants locally elected leaders to be in charge of the police. Frankly, if police chief constables are unhappy about this, I wish them good luck and goodbye. I’m sure we can find replacements. Real cops who make our streets safe again.
