In praise of police commissioners

Durham's Labour Police and Crime Commissioner, Ron Hogg, has called for a rethink on drug policy, calling for Danish style shooting galleries where intravenous drug users can access clean needles and medical advice while feeding there habit.  The Beeb's report claims 'Results published in the Lancet showed that prescribing pharmaceutical heroin in this way can reduce the use of street drugs and associated levels of crime.'

Meanwhile, the previous week Christopher Salmon, Dyfed/Powys's commissioner attacked the culture of the police that saw them trying to frame former Tory Chief Whip, Andrew Mitchell.  In an attack reported by the Daily Mail he said: ‘The culture around police forces is too closed, too defensive, too politicised and, in some cases, feral.'

This sort of debate on drugs policy and call to account for overblown and unaccountable elements of the constabulary was almost entirely missing from the debate on crime and policing (or was easily dismissed by the vested interests at the Home Office and their media friends) before the election of police commissioners.

Now there is an influential cadre of local people - with a democratic mandate - who are able to move on the debate from the old, sterile race to be seen to be the toughest on crime - regardless of its effectiveness.  That's a good thing which I hope will lead to more of them questioning how we are currently policed and for the Lib Dems to actually take these elections seriously because - like elected Mayors - they are almost certainly here to stay.

Police chiefs need beat experience

I'm relatively relaxed about the bulk of Damian Green's proposals to shake up the recruitment of senior police personnel.  It's clear the service suffers from a lack of external expertise and modern management.  It has very few women in senior positions and even fewer from ethnic minorities.  Its closed shop nature makes it easy for it to act as a law to itself - even trying to fit up senior ministers for political gain.

But the police's strength is that every single serving officer has spent time on the beat, dealing with community crime and misbehaviour.  It's the cornerstone of policing by consent that the police understand the neighbourhoods and people they police.  It's vital, but unglamorous, which is why community policing is increasinlgy squeezed out in the chase for resources, new kit and technology, special units, fast cars and helicopters.

It's a trend that has made the police more remote from the people, made neighbourhoods appear less safe for those who live there and, by way of response the authorities, have encouraged the use of more authoritarian policies such as extensive CCTV and databases.

And encouraging people with no experience on the beat to take over senior management positions will only speed up this process of making the police more remote and putting more barriers between them and those they are supposed to police.

The Home Office has a Lib Dem minister - Jeremy Browne - and in the unlikely event he reads this blog I hope he insists that a significant time on the beat is part of the induction process.  Otherwise comments can be made to the Home Office here.

Have bent coppers fitted up Andrew Mitchell?

From the reports from Channel 4 news this evening it certainly appears so.

Is it conceivable Prescott could lose the Hull police commissioner election?

Rumours abound of glum Labour faces at the Hull and Humberside count...

Expenses cheat is Labour's first police and crime commissioner

Earlier today Vera Baird - a former Solicitor General in the Brown Government - became the first Labour elected Police and Crime Commissioner - winning the Northumbria election.

Baird had been MP for the previously safe Labour seat of Redcar since 2001, but two and a bit years ago she was rejected by the good people of that borough - following a series of scandals over her expenses including the purchase of two artificial Christmas trees and attempting to spend a ludicrous £29.97 on snowflake lights and baubles and a further £5.48 on decorations.  Baird earned more than £120,000 a year as Solicitor General.

But she didn't leave it at that - having lost her seat she showed no contrition whatsoever and in 2011 cashed in to the tune of £109,000 by selling her publicly funded second home.

One hopes the Northumbria Police Authority finance department understand what they are letting themselves in for and do not let their new commissioner anywhere near the corporate credit card.

Lib Dem conference - advice for terrorists

I am now likely to be heading to Brighton for a couple of days work during the party's conference.  I have reluctantly accepted that I need to be vetted by the police if I wish to gain access to the 'inner sanctum' as it were.

However, in addition to the general opening of the party's books to Sussex Police, the party will not now allow an individual party member to attend as a day visitor for more than a single day.  I phoned the party's conference office to explain that I was happy to pay 2x £35 for two days visitors passes - but was told for 'security reasons' this was not possible.  When pressed it was to 'avoid two records of the same person' - ie bureacratic convenience. Result - I am paying for 1x £35 for a single day pass and not going to the 'inner sanctum' on the first day.  The consequence for the cash strapped party is lower income and more dissatisfied activists.

It is also unconstitutional under para 6.5 of the Lib Dem constitution which says:

"The Standing Orders of the Conference shall provide for consultative sessions of the Conference at which any member of the Party may speak, and for members who are not representatives to address other sessions of the Conference, but such provisions shall not prejudice the right of the chair of a session to select speakers."

So there you are terrorists - don't bother trying to recce Nick Clegg on day 1 - just blow yourself up at the first opportunity.  (Or go to the Metropole Hotel - which is outside the secure zone and venue for many of the fringe events).

Spineless bureaucrats give in to police over conference security

Lib Dem Voice reports that three party committees have agreed to police requests to allow them to vet democratically elected conference representatives at the party's autumn conference.

This was despite the previous conference rejecting the idea and a 'shotgun' consultation during the local election campaign also overwhelmingly rejecting the proposal.  The crucial part of the staement issued by the chairs of the three committees is this:

"In the unlikely circumstance that the police recommend that we do not accredit a party member, the final decision as to the attendance of any Party member rests with the Party..."

So why bother?  The party rates the chance of anyone failing this vetting process as 'unlikely'.  And even then they can still attend if the party agrees.  And I think it would be a very brave party bureaucrat to turn down a Lib Dem member elected by their local party - that's assuming they actually have the constitutional authority to do so. 

But the issue is not actually whether vetting/accreditation itself is effective (and the party committees have provided no evidence that this is the case), but about the relationship between the individual and the police.  All elected politicians (and especially Liberal ones) have a duty to question vested interests and lazy bureacracy and to support a rebalancing of the relationship between the state and the individual.  Sadly in this case the elected bureaucrats at the heart of the party have dismally failed to argue the liberal case.

As the committee places are elected I cannot imagine the party will want to reelect the spineless bureaucrats who allowed this to happen.

What is going on in North Richmond?

A question usually answered with a resounding - meh...

But a routine by-election hold by Zac Goldsmith's well (extra virgin olive) oiled Tory machine on the day Boris won a second term has turned into something much more interesting.

Apparently a large number of fake Lib Dem leaflets were delivered from about 10pm until about 1am on eve of poll which claimed the Lib Dems were to build new tower blocks full of immigrants, social housing tenants and unemployed people.

Other than the three main English parties, there was a Green and an eccentric independent - Marc Leslie Cranfield-Adams who has been both a Lib Dem and a Tory (and probably UKIP too).

What used to be called special branch have been called in to investigate and they are apparently using the full force of New Labour anti terrorism laws to seize both Council and private individual's CCTV footage of the deliverers.

Given the logistics required a scanner, a desk top publishing package and access to mass printing/copying facilities as well as sufficient volunteers to deliver the stuff in a couple of hours, there can't be a huge number of suspects...

...so who is going to be collared?

Living on words review of the year

It's Hogmanay, so it's time to look back on 2011. So in the tradition of all good topical TV and radio programmes (and cos it's cheap and requires little creative input), here's my review of 2011.

In January I had lunch with Cicero and we discussed Estonia's flat tax and what it might mean if introduced in the UK. The post recieved more comments than any other during the year.

In February some misguided Lib Dems decided to work with Labour - here was my response

In March I suggested an alternative to Lembit Opik as Lib Dem candidate for London Mayor - only to be rebuffed two weeks later.

April saw the death of one of the country's finest footballers of the 40s and 50s - Eddie Turnbull - remembered here and also by the BBC on the oxymoronic Sports Personality of the Year.

There was a glimmer of hope for British liberalism in May - despite the Lib Dem rout at the local elections and the catastrophic failure of the AV campaign. In Brockworth, Glos, the cheese rollers went ahead with their annual festival despite the attentions of the local constabulary.

In June it was no surprise that the MP who had issued a superinjunction was litigious chip off the old block - Zac Goldsmith.

July saw reactionary blogger, Guido Fawkes, lose what little credibility as a serious political player evaporate as he promoted a pro-hanging petition.

In August Edinburgh's tram project was on, then it was off and then it was on again.

September saw the party conference season and my advice to Nick Clegg was, needless to say, not taken up.

In October the Libyan uprising reached its grisly conclusion, despite some high profile support for the ex-dictator.

As the campaign for the Coombe Vale by-election hotted up in November, this blog wondered whether Zac Goldsmith would make good his promises to the Electoral Commission to reuse items he'd failed to declare the full cost for at the general election.

In December Ed Miliband received a verbal dagger, that would have made him wonder who his friends were.

Happy New Year and see you all again in 2012.

Is the Lib Dem Federal Exec police commissioner decision constitutional?

The decision by the Liberal Democrats' Federal Executive - the top decision making body in the party - to actively discourage Lib Dem candidates for police commissioner next year is insane.

The apparent reason is that the party doesn't wish policing to become a political football. The same of course could be argued about schools, hospitals, the army, navy and airforce or most of local government. So why aren't they arguing that local Lib Dem parties back ‘appropriate independents’ to run these services?

The decision has rightly met with opposition from the more sensible parts of the party - including Lord Bonkers and Eaten by Missionaries. The latter of course has masterminded more election victories in difficult circumstances for posts that the party is sceptical about than most in the party - and probably the entire FE put together.

The FE is also the guarantor of the Party's constitution - which I suspect they forgot in taking their decision. Article 1 is clear:

The objectives of the Party shall be:
(a) to be the successor to the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (“the Former Parties”);
(b) to seek to achieve the objects set forth in the Preamble to this Constitution; and
(c) in order to achieve such objects, to secure the election of Liberal Democrats as Members of Parliament, UK Members of the European Parliament and members of local and other elected public authorities.

So how do they square this nonsensical decision with their own constitution that they are there to protect?

Failed English fire centralisation offers stark warning to Nats

The Public Accounts Committee's findings that Labour wasted at least £469 million trying to centralise England's fire service control, is a stark warning to the SNP government in Edinburgh.

According to the beeb report the plan was 'flawed from the outset', 'a comprehensive failure' and failed to achieve any of its objectives.

It is in the very nature of these vanity centralisation projects - which are always justified on the grounds of greater efficiency - that they end in abject failure. This is because it is the nature of centralisation to drive out local accountability and reduce competition to a handful of big oligopolistic suppliers.

So when the bill for the SNP's fire and police centralisation lands on Scottish taxpayers doormats - and cuts are made to schools, hospitals (and yes the police and fire services) to pay for it - the SNP government will have no excuses. They were warned.

Single Scots police force moves closer

One of the consequences of an SNP majority at Holyrood was they would persist with plans to create a single police force north of the border. And indeed it (and the parallel creation of single fire brigade) is one of 16 bills outlined by Alex Salmond in an otherwise pretty uninspiring Scots legislative programme.

This blog's view is that it will prove to be an expensive, bureaucratic and ultimately damaging change. But now they have a majority, the SNP will have no excuses when Scots voters find out just how foolish this idea is.

Lib Dems should vote against using terror powers on Thursday

Parliament is to be recalled in response to the 'Dolce and Gabbana' riots.

The question being asked on the interweb is - is it to enact powers contained in Labour's anti-terrorism legislation?

Stephen Glenn has a good post about what this might entail.

This would be an illiberal overeaction. What this situation needs is good police intelligence to find out where the organisers are targetting in advance and robust police tactics on the street.

Anti-terror powers would appeal to the right wing mob - but have little practical effect other than to curb the liberty of the 99.99% of Londoners who are going about their law abiding business.

Lib Dem MPs should vote against these draconian powers if proposed by the Tories (and no doubt supported by Labour).

Are further revelations about Met corruption on the way?

Yesterday's big news that Sir Paul Stephenson, Commissioner of the Met police, has resigned has been reported as putting more pressure on PM Cameron. The reason - highlighted by Labour's Yvette Cooper - is the contrast between the Commissioner's 'honourable' action of resigning over his employment of the Deputy Editor of the News of the World compared with the 'dishonourable' action of PM Cameron who remains in post even though he appointed its Editor.

However, senior policemen are almost as difficult to winkle out of office as dodgy politicians - witness how long Stephenson's predecessor held on despite losing the confidence of the Mayor.

What is perhaps being forgotten is that there are two current inquiries into phone hacking - Operation Weeting which is re-investigating the shambolic previous investigation on Labour's watch - and Operation Elvedon which is looking at what is euphemistically called 'inappropriate payments to the police' ie bribery.

My reading is that Stephenson resigned because he knew that the case against the Met will include widespread evidence of 'inappropriate payments' as well as the employment of dodgy ex-hacks.

The case against Cameron is just about the employment of dodgy ex-hacks.

Why sentencing policy is irrelevant

Ken Clarke has taken a lot of stick for his proposals - unceremoniously dumped earlier this week - to offer larger discounts from jail sentences for those offenders who plead guilty.

The proposals were dropped as part of a new 'get tough' package by PM David Cameron which included various tabloid friendly headlines about making prisoners work harder and longer.

But it really doesn't matter because the vast majority of crime in the country goes undetected and the perpetrators unpunished. According to Home Office figures (which unsurprisingly are somewhat difficult to find on their website), in 2009/10 just 28% of all crimes reported in England and Wales were successfully solved by the police.

For violent crimes against the person the police solve 44% of cases, just 24% of rape cases, 16% of house burglary and just 11% of vehicle crime.

So until the police can actually start catching criminals - how the courts sentence them won't matter. Deterrence by punitive sentencing doesn't work when criminals know they have a 60% 70% chance of getting away with it.

This is a huge opportunity for Lib Dems in government to move the debate onto more liberal territory. So it's time for Lynne Featherstone and Tom McNally to start the debate about effective policing and crime prevention, rather than allowing the Tories to rehash stale headlines about jail sentences.

Lib Dem grassroots fight conference police veto

The decision by the Lib Dems conference committee to grant the police sweeping powers to vet representatives has been met with near universal opposition from the party's grassroots.

Conference reps will need to prove their identity through a passport, driving licence or NI number and provide a passport quality photo and these details will be kept by the police indefinitely.

This goes against the principle that the conference is the sovereign body of the party and local parties can send who they want to it.

The reason for this police intrusion is that old canard 'security'. Chair of the conference committee, Andrew Wiseman, tried to justify this by writing on Lib Dem Voice 'The hard fact is that our conference as a whole, and some of our members who attend conference who are ministers, are now more a focus for people who very seriously do not wish our democratic procedures to continue.'

Now I know Nick Clegg isn't particularly popular at the moment, but I find it difficult to believe that a fully paid up member of the party, who had been duly elected by their fellow local members would go to conference to do him harm. At worst I imagine they might send him a strongly worded email or ask a pointed question.

So the question the Federal Conference Committee needs to answer (but so far hasn't) is: What evidence did the police and home office present to them that means there is a credible threat to government ministers from properly elected conference representatives (not exhibitors or journalists or day visitors)?

If you haven't done so - sign the petition here.

Cheese rollers in snub to authorities

According to the Beeb the Brockworth cheese rollers defied the authorities once again by holding an unofficial cheese roll down Coopers Hill in Gloucestershire.

It seems a bizarre use of police and the 'elf n safety' commissars' time to try and prevent a couple of hundred grown men and women falling down a hill in pursuit of a cheese, but they clearly don't have anything better to do there and the Gloucestershire constabulary must be so flush with cash they can afford to send 'a large police presence' on a bank holiday to try and stop it.

Surely there must be better ways to spend public money than trying (and failing) to ban fun?

Manchester police expose themselves...

... both to ridicule for pettifogging jobsworthyness and lack of irony.

The BBC sub headline in the article refers to a 'stormy' council meeting agreeing £109 million of cuts. One assumes redacting football supporters' car stickers will cease to be a priority...

When is a pay freeze a pay cut?

When it's reported by the BBC.

At no point is Teresa May directly quoted as saying she wants police officers to be paid less. She calls for them to be part of the public sector pay freeze and for the various bonuses and overtime payents to be reviewed.

Despite being one of the most respected media and news organisations in the world, there really are times when their institutional biases get in the way. And I think sadly the coming public spending cuts will be one area where self interest, unionisation and metropolitan elite attitudes will get in the way of the Beeb's usual good journalism.

Scottish Chief constable's ludicrous pro-merger argument

One wonders if Strathclyde Chief Constable, Stephen House, read my blog post of 13th January - stupidity of SNP police plans - as he launched one of the most ludicrous justification for a single Scottish police force.

His argument is that a single mega force is needed to deal with major incidents like the Derrick Bird shootings, because the small Cumbria police had to ask for outside help to deal with it.

Now there have been a grand total of three such mass shootings in the last 24 years in the UK. I guess you could throw in the occasional terrorist atrocity - but you are still talking about no more than half a dozen major incidents in a quarter of a century in the whole UK - let alone Scotland. I know of no other organisation that would dream of managing itself on the basis of a permanent capacity to deal with unprecedented incidents with the huge amount of resource redundancy that involves.

One suspects the chief constable isn't exactly unaware of the consequent uplift in the terms and conditions to be expected by the holder of a new mega police chief compared with a mere Chief Constable.

This is a big opportunity for the Lib Dems north of the border. They have been a consistent voice in favour of local policing and against the self agrandising bureaucracy and waste a mega force would undoubtedly bring. And they ought to make it their own in the elections to Holyrood in May.