Police and Crime Commissioner
Nov. 16th, 2012 12:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackMost people I know are rightly extremely cynical about the PCC elections -- certainly the election seems to have been very weird, with almost no explanation of what they will do, or any publicity about it.
However, I realise I don't know much about what they'll actually do. The idea of having elected civilian oversight of the police seems... reasonable, especially given recent complaints about some police behaviour. What was the situation before? In what ways is the new situation worse (taking as read that electing everyone and his dogcatcher, while laudable in spirit, wouldn't work in practice)?
A cynical theory I've heard is that the government can't afford to fund police forces in their current state, and wants to shuffle off the responsibility for cuts or unpopular outsourcing to PCCs. Is there any truth in that?
However, I realise I don't know much about what they'll actually do. The idea of having elected civilian oversight of the police seems... reasonable, especially given recent complaints about some police behaviour. What was the situation before? In what ways is the new situation worse (taking as read that electing everyone and his dogcatcher, while laudable in spirit, wouldn't work in practice)?
A cynical theory I've heard is that the government can't afford to fund police forces in their current state, and wants to shuffle off the responsibility for cuts or unpopular outsourcing to PCCs. Is there any truth in that?