Douglas Carswell's Blog

Directly elected police chiefs need not cost extra

The Association of Police Authorities claim that directly elected police chiefs would cost a extra £100 million.  That sounds a little like turkeys pleading we cancel Christmas on the grounds of cost.

Such claims should be treated with a great deal of caution.  This seems more like a desperate attempt by a desperate vested interest to derail reform.  The police exist to serve the law-abiding public - not quangocrats on the Police Authority. 

The APA is quoted as saying "Police authorities are not convinced that there is a public appetite for the significant changes to police governance".  That merely underlines quite how out of touch they are with the folk they claim to represent.    

It is the current system of bogus local accountability that wastes taxpayer money.  Money that could be spent on police officers instead goes to fund ineffective governance bureaucracy.  Hundreds on the Police Authority payroll - achieving near zero genuine local input into policing priorities.

Back to all posts