Centralisation, Devolution and the Future of Local Government in England by Steve Leach & John Stewart & George Jones

Author:Steve Leach & John Stewart & George Jones [Leach, Steve & Stewart, John & Jones, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781315407920
Google: SpcuDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 35864165
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-07-28T00:00:00+00:00

Policing and crime prevention

Given that much of the work of local police forces interconnects in various ways with the responsibilities of local authorities, it seems inconsistent that accountability for police matters should be channelled through a single individual who (the Mayor and Greater London Authority excepted) operates in isolation from the local authority or authorities in their localities. Elected police commissioners, introduced in 2012 to widespread public apathy in the polls, are a further example (as are directly elected mayors) of the belief of successive governments since 1997 in the benefits of individual leadership, preferably involving leaders with what are believed to be charismatic traits. In reality, the benefits of this individualised form of leadership are unproven and contestable, particularly when it is detached from the mainstream of local democratic policy-making and co-ordinated action. In the Combined Authorities that have agreed to the introduction of elected mayors, the role of mayor will be combined with that of police commissioner, which is a step in the right direction. But our preference would be for the restoration of the pre-2012 Police Committees, where there was the opportunity for more wide-ranging public debate, as well as a greater level of shared responsibility for policing and clearer democratic accountability.

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