David Cameron's new team of Police Commissioners, chosen in farcically low voting last month, are now taking advantage of the freedom they apparently have acquired to appoint their deputies and other staff without any of the selection procedures normally used for publicly funded jobs. The Times has found that sixteen elected commisioners have already chosen deputies with salaries at up to sixty-five thousand pounds and in several cases the choice has just happened to fall on the commissioner's election agent or campaign manager.
Even worse, perhaps, is that predictions of the politicization of the Commissioners' role are proving true. More than half of those elected last month had past or present political affiliations and are strengthening these in their appointments of deputies. One instance quoted yesterday by Matthew Parris, the former Conservative MP, was of the Labour councillor in Derbyshire who was elected as Police Commissioner and, in thanking those who voted for him in a local paper, reminded them to vote for the Labour candidate in next year's County Council election!
The Police Commissioners idea seems to be among those sketched on the back of an envelope by the prime minister. Having launched it with a fanfare he lost interest and did nothing to boost it as the elections approached.
Clearly the scheme needs tougher ministerial or other oversight than it seems to have at the moment.
No comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Currently there are no comments.