On November 15th, we will be asked to vote for the first elected Police and Crime Commissioners. This new post was created with the stated aim of "giving the public a say in cutting crime", and the government describes it as "being at the vanguard of its reforms". The theory is that an elected police chief will make the police better at serving in a way the public want.
This all sounds great, but there are two very serious problems with this idea.
- There is little that a voter can do to make a meaningful choice as to which candidate to vote for.
- The concept of electing the police, or voting on which crimes to enforce, is inherently dodgy.
