Police – under the influence! – Do plans for elected Commissioners offer a prospect of better public engagement?

In the coming months, as the Police Reform Bill goes through Parliament, we will hear a lot about the pros and cons of placing England’s 41 Chief Constables under the direction of an elected politician.

The proposals aren’t new, and have been subject to a recent consultation. This revealed anxieties that the new Police and Crime Commissioners will have to respond to their electoral mandate, which might require a disproportionate concentration of effort on some parts of a Police Force’s area … or maybe on some specific high-profile offences. Everyone agrees on the need for checks and balances, so elected Councillors – plus co-opted independents will form Police and Crime Panels and will act as a scrutiny function.