This morning the Home Secretary claimed that following last week’s riots, the contrast ‘could not be clearer’ between the London Mayor (as the Government’s declared ‘pilot’ for Directly Elected Police and Crime Commissioners), and police authority chairmen in other parts of the country. The Home Secretary suggested that such a contrast made the case for imposing a new model of elected Police Commissioners across England and Wales.

Bishop Derek Webley, Chair of West Midlands Police Authority this morning said: “I take this inaccurate portrayal both as an insult to me personally and to my colleagues on West Midlands Police Authority”.

The Deputy Chair of the APA, Ann Barnes has responded on behalf of the Association of Police Authorities as follows:

“The fact that Mayor Johnson and the Home Secretary made it back from holiday days after Police Authority members all over the country had responded to requests for help from London, and had been out listening to local communities, and that the Mayor made it onto national TV does not create a compelling case for this revolutionary, risky, and costly change.

We believe that the public will judge the case for change on the evidence of what works.

The real contrasts that interest the public are those between an American model of solo Police Commissioners (PCCs) and the British way of broadly based oversight of the police.

When we contrast the two, the inadequacies of the Government’s plans could not be clearer:

- In an age of austerity, there is no evidence that PCCs will cut costs - costs have been (and go on being) carefully cut under the current system yet the government admits that the new system will cost over £100m MORE.  

- There is no evidence that PCCs will make the streets safer

 - There is no evidence that one person will be better at listening to a range of community views and needs; can one person represent the needs of 2.4million people and hold vast police forces to account more effectively than a diverse, skilled group can?

 -There’s no evidence that PCCs will raise rates of public trust and confidence in policing; these are 40% under elected Commissioners in the US, but 63% in the UK.

- Finally, there is no evidence that anyone  outside sections of the Conservative party and a couple of think tanks actually think this is a good idea; 65% of the public prefer a broadly based system of oversight and only 15% support the PCC model.*

The public want the police to have the tools, the resources and the political back up they need to do the job.

The public don’t want a new set of politicians claiming credit for gains that they know full well were hard won on the frontline by the professionals.

And the public interest will not be served by swapping a model that’s helped cut crime and raise confidence for an American import. Least of all when this import comes with considerable excess baggage including higher crime, lower public confidence and the chaos of police chiefs surviving for an average of just two years under political Commissioners who can fire chiefs at whim.

The police deserve our consistent support, scrutiny and challenge and the public deserve better than this costly, risky plan.

The clearest contrast is between a model that’s been tested and found wanting, and what the public want – a model that has helped deliver safer communities, significant efficiencies and increasing confidence in policing by consent. 

With the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill yet to complete its passage through Parliament we urge the government to think again before rushing to impose this risky reform that will deflect resources away from an already shrinking policing pot.”

ENDS.

Notes:

1. The Home Secretary’s speech, delivered this morning in full: http://t.co/NF0XitD

Mrs May stated: “I thought that was another lesson from last week’s events.  In London, the Mayor was on the streets of his city, working with the Acting Commissioner and representing Londoners to central government. The contrast with unaccountable, unelected and invisible police authority chairmen in other parts of the country could not have been clearer.”

1. 2.       For enquiriesand interview requests please contact the APA Head of Press and Public Affairs, Nathan Oley (07714 399 760 / Nathan.oley@apa.police.uk ).

1. 3.       Bishop Derek Webley, Chair, West Midlands Police Authority will hold a press conference at Lloyd House, Birmingham at 1.30pm to respond to the Home Secretary’s criticisms. For more information contact Caroline Schubert, Communications Manager, West Midlands Police Authority on 0121 626 5442. http://www.west-midlands-pa.gov.uk/index.asp

1. 4.       *Public Opinion:

Statistics are taken from nationwide polls: YouGov polled 2,391 adults for Liberty, published 30.03.11: http://bit.ly/fYgR9w  and Opinion Matters polled 1,508 Feb’ 2011, the London Evening Standard: http://bit.ly/eR8jUf) showed that:

-          The public prefer the current system of policing oversight by 65% to 15%

-          Only 15% of the public believe that PCCs will help cut crime

-          60%  of the public think that the police do a ‘good’ or ’excellent’ job

The public’s rejection of two thirds of the proposals to introduce Elected Mayors in local referenda to date, provide little evidence of a public desire for political power to be concentrated in one individual. Focus groups by MORI revealed that though the public might welcome a clearer focus for police accountability, they do not want one elected person to set the direction for policing, or to hold officers to account.