Douglas Carswell's Blog

Sheriffs will have the power

In November, local people will have the chance to elect their own Police and Crime Commissioner, or Sheriff.

The Sheriff will have oversight over local policing, perhaps in time overseeing public prosecutions, too.

Despite the Sheriff having the power to fire the Chief Constable, critics of the new arrangements have claimed that the Sheriffs will have only a limited impact. The police will, they say, keep slavishly following Home Office directives. The new Sheriff will be little more than some sort of directly elected Police Authority.

Not if you read the small print, they won't.

Mark Reckless, the brilliant MP for Rochester, has ensured that the new Policing Protocol Order, which sets out the powers between Sheriffs and Chief Constable, allow the Sheriff to call the shots.

Since Lord Denning's 1968 ruling, operational independence has been interpreted widely. Mark Reckless' new Protocol Order ensures that the Chief Constable must answer to the Sheriff on all matters, except on "specific operational matters and decisions ... in arresting ... and pursuing investigations".

In other words, the single individual Sheriff you elect to hold the police to account in your county or city, really will be able to insist that the local constabulary's priorities are your priorities. Good news for the law abiding. Bad news for hoodlums.

Let's make sure we get lots of robustly independent-minded candidates come forward for the role.

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