An email from the Direct Communications Unit at the Home Office

Dear Mr Hughes,

Thank you for your e-mail of 20/01/2011 11:36:09 AM about the Government’s intentions to replace police authorities with directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). As you will appreciate, the Policing Minister has a vast amount of correspondence to deal with, and his office has asked the Police Reform Unit to respond to your letter. Whilst I am not in a position to comment on the local issues you raised I can comment on PCCs.

We welcome your support with the introduction of the PCCs. Police authorities are invisible and unaccountable to the public, whilst exercising significant powers relating to force budgets and strategic control.  The Government is committed to replacing bureaucratic accountability with democratic accountability.  The introduction of Commissioners will mean for the first time the public will be able to directly vote for an individual to represent their community’s policing needs – in this sense, Commissioners are far removed from the current system.  That elected individual will be directly accountable to the public in a way that police authorities are not.  Whilst the Home Office has considered alternative models, including strengthening the current system, Commissioners will be a significantly more visible and able advocate of the public voice as well as representing better value for money than their overly bureaucratic counterpart currently in place.

For more details of the role of Policing and Crime Commissioners please see our website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/police/

Postscript: I agree with the above. I do not care for the relationship that Penyffordd cllrs have with North Wales Police over the interest of Chester Rd either. This can be looked at next election if the current situation with regards speeding traffic continues.