It may not be perfect, but the existing system for selecting who will run each of England and Wales’ 43 police forces does have the advantage of being in the hands of local people. Appointments are currently made by each force’s police authority which are comprised of local councillors, magistrates and independents.
Not for much longer though, as senior pen pushers at the Ministry of the Interior have come up with a game little wheeze to put the power to hire and fire police chiefs firmly in the hands of central government. Given that our already overworked, under-resourced and red-tape blighted policemen and women have the unfortunate responsibility of enforcing most of Labour’s sinister social policy is it any wonder that the Government now wants complete control from top to bottom?
Deeply paranoid though I am, it appears that I am not the only one a tad concerned about this proposal:
“This reflects the Stalinist reflexes of Gordon Brown’s Labour party. Yet again this government seems unable to resist the urge for centralisation,” according to David Davis, the shadow Home Secretary.
One now feels that one is in good company.
Tags: centralisation, david davis, home office, labour, police appointments, policing, uk
December 3, 2008 at 9:04 pm |
[...] Distributed moral wisdom – mayors and political parties. Posted on December 3, 2008 by Paul Evans I find it almost impossible to take a blog seriously when its central claim is that any British government in the recent past of forseeable future is really lurching towards totalitarianism. It is with this proviso that I offer a semi-approving link to this post. [...]