Letters - 2 November 2012
From policing to books
Police and crime commissioners
On 15 November, in all areas of England and Wales apart from London, there will be elections for police and crime commissioners (PCCs). These are new elected posts, which replace the police authorities, created with the aim of ensuring better accountability between the police and the communities they serve. In London this role is already part of the mayor’s remit.
This is an important new development in criminal justice. The PCCs will be directly accountable for the performance of the police in their area, and will have a duty to listen and respond to their communities in setting the priorities for policing in the area. They will hire and fire the chief constable, set the budget and determine local priorities. This will include services for victims and witnesses.
This initiative has not had a great deal of media coverage and, in my recent job at Suzy Lamplugh Trust, I met a number of representatives of charities concerned with aspects of criminal justice worried that the combination of a new style election, taking place at an unusual time – on a dark, possibly cold November night – with limited publicity, might mean a very low turnout. This would mean the election of individuals with considerable power by very few voters.
Criminal justice has been a Quaker concern from our earliest days. So I ask all Friends to find out who their candidates are, attend any public meetings to influence local priorities for policing and, above all, to vote on 15 November.
Linda Craig
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