“We can’t have this whole process taken over by Party hacks” this statement about the role of Police and Crime Commissioners was made by Blair Gibbs on 6th August 2011 on Radio 4. Blair was Chief of Staff to Nick Herbert (shadow Policing Minister) from 2007-2010 and is now the Principal Adviser to Stephen Greenhaulgh, the (Conservative) London Police and Crime Commissioner. Blair was one of the authors of the Police and Crime Commissioners, and he showed himself to be in tune with the public when he made that statement. In the year before the PCC elections 2400 people were polled by YouGov of whom 65% had confidence in the unkown Police Authorities, but only 15% felt that they would trust a Party Political PCC.
Sadly the problems anticipated by Blair Gibbs and many of us, have come to pass in a number ways and one can presume they will continue to impact Policing until Party Politicians withdraw from the role of Police and Crime Commissioner altogether. One recent example is shown in this exchange from the House of Commons when the 13 Labour PCCs took a position on current Government reforms, yet their collective voice is ignored by the Government, being dismissed because they are making a Party Political stand. This is despite the fact that these 13 men and women together represent the elected leadership of one third of our Police Forces (equivalent to 220 MPs). However it is not just other Politicians who are expressing concern about the politicisation of the Police. Last week Martin Richards, Chief Constable of Sussex took part in a interview to mark his retirement, he included in his comments a focus on the issue of the Police and Crime Commissioner and the way in which Party Politics has already had a negative impact on Policing.
“What I hadn’t foreseen is the fact that if your single elected PCC is a politician and elected on a party political ticket of any persuasion, then that brings a new dimension. “Politics and policing in my view shouldn’t mix, and don’t really mix, but when we had a Police Authority there was more of a balance I think it is fair to say.” Sussex PCC Katy Bourne stood on a Conservative ticket, and Mr Richards recognises her affiliation does have some influence on the force. “In operational terms I am not sure that it does make much of a difference, but a sensitivity to areas of interest that a political party might have is something that we have to be mindful of.”
Looking ahead to the next set of elections in May 2016 the current Chief Constable has further concerns:
“I am really quite concerned about the election next time, ” states Mr Richards. “The nature of an election is competitive and every PCC in the land will be criticised by those trying to oust them, I suspect. “Irrespective of party politics or performance, the losers will be the public because, if the arguments are predominantly negative, many people won’t see the distinction between the politics, the election and PCC, and policing as a whole. “They will read about negativity and the word it is associated with is police, and therefore confidence in policing is affected and morale and confidence of police officers could be affected. “I don’t think we’ll be hearing what fantastic things police officers do on a daily basis and I don’t think we will hear about the marvellous service provided. “We’ll have people taking pot shots at one another. “I am not looking forward to two-and-a-half years time when those elections come round.”
In recent days we have seen how toxic Party Politics can be when involved in the running of OFSTED and the Environment Agency, and previously the impact on Policing in the context of Plebgate. Party Politics were developed as a way to help our elected representatives work together in Parliament to defeat the King. Inevitably they grew from that point, but perhaps in extending their control to local government, including in the last two years the role of Police and Crime Commissioners, the Parties have shown that they have over extended their capabilities and use. If Party Politicians were to resist the urge to stand in these elections, the debate might still be difficult for some of our Police Forces, but the absence of Party organised and promoted criticism would mean that the debate might be less damaging than will otherwise be the case.
ianchisnall 
In the case of the PCC I think Martin Richards’ comments were directed at the fact the role is competitive … how would you, as an independent, oust Katy our current PCC without highlighting her failures – and without that impacting upon the reputation of the Sussex police as a whole ? Party politics may make the police more sensitive – but it is the election process for a single person that impacts on the public perception of the police as a whole.
As for the Environment Agency, Lord Smith should be sacked and fined for total incompetence while I am sure all the other, complaining, quangocrats, will wash up on another tax payer funded committee without having to go through the process you and I have to go through to get a new job.
Hi Peter, I would argue that Martin is reflecting the style as well as perhaps some of the substance of the election process. I know that public debates about Policing is something he values, but the challenge we have seen with the EA highlights the problem. Old timers like Chris Smith can rise above the criticism, what Eric Pickles has done is to criticise an agency as a whole including some of my friends (and that it how they see it). As you suggest Lord Smith will have no problem finding a new role. On the issue of the PCC elections, I hope that none of the Parties will contest it, but that is incredibly naïve. I think there are a number of areas where Katy overpromised, which can be emphasised without besmirching the Police. Indeed many of the Police Officers were frustrated when she did so and so there may be some room for raising morale even in the process. There are a number of ideas and issues that to date Katy has not really touched upon (to be fair many were not in her manifesto) which I believe can be spoken about without damaging the Police. However whoever stands against Katy will have a tough job on their hands, she has addressed a number of issues that the Police Authority did not address and has been very visible which is a key part of the job.