The recent elections have made me ask a question, not for the first time. How is it that the candidates for these posts put themselves forward as representatives of political parties? Surely the police are supposed to be entirely apolitical? What am I missing here?
It is a job which comes with generous remuneration, plus expenses which in one case included a chauffeur/assistant and an ingenious way of bolstering those expenses, all paid for by the taxpayer of course. The PCCs have the power to appoint and dismiss Chief Constables and hold them to account, provide a conduit between police and the communities they serve, and set budgets and policing priorities. That’s pretty far-reaching and positively dangerous in the wrong, politically motivated hands.
Elected candidates have to swear an oath of impartiality. Ah, well that’s all right then. I am sure no Member of Parliament or Councillor would lie to the British public. Wait a minute … (and see Jonathon Seed in Animal Wild).
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