Revolving doors at South Yorkshire – On the way out, or on the way in?

Posted on 01/02/2012 by samchapman

Updated 6 Feb 2012
Meredydd Hughes tells BBC Sheffield he will seek the Labour nomination.

Original Article
The Yorkshire post reports that Meredydd Hughes, who just months ago stood down as Chief Constable of South Yorkshire is being lined up by Labour as a possible candidate for the elections for Police and Crime Commissioner in the force. Mr Hughes remains tight-lipped about whether he will stand.

This story raises a multitude of issues, as the historic structure of police pensions produces a range of recently retired senior officers below state pension age, with money in their pockets and time on their hands – or what political parties might view as ideal candidates for a full-time and self-funded campaign. Among the concerns are the following:-

Continue reading →

Posted in Media coverage | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Guardian Questions for potential PCCs

Posted on 31/01/2012 by samchapman

The Guardian have an article by Jon Harvey, a Buckingham Town Councillor, giving 10 questions to ask PCCs. Apparently any worth their salt should be able to answer them.

Some are a little curious, others require some speculation. Question 9 would probably cause most a fair degree of puzzlement – (9. Is policing a complex business or a complicated one?) I’ve seen at least one definition of ‘complex’ that is ‘complicated’, which kind of finishes that one, unless your preferred reply begins “no, it’s really quite simple…”

More interestingly, what do you think of these questions, and do you have any better ones?

The comments thread is gently moderated, so feel free to share your views.

Posted in Media coverage | Tagged , | 1 Comment

TopOfTheCops.com hits the web

Posted on 29/01/2012 by samchapman

It’s like waiting for a baby, if for no other reason that it will be 9 months before the first Police and Crime Commissioners are born. TopOfTheCops.com is for everyone that wants to keep an eye on developments, from the embryonic phase onwards, whether you are a hopeful Commissioner in the making, or one of the expectant parents in the electorate, waiting to see what the offspring are about to do to your lives.

The posts represent a controversial constitutional change but, love ’em or loathe ’em, with the law already passed, November will bring 41 new Commissioners into being in local areas around the country – keep coming back here, and you might be ready for them!

So let’s start with what round ups are already available –

The Police Foundation is sometimes thought of as a left-of-centre think tank – they are tracking the possible PCC candidates here.

Michael Crick, torturer of politicans on Newsnight and Channel 4 news over the years, has his own view of the runners and riders here.

The Home Office have an Official Police and Crime Commissioner Site, and political parties are starting to trawl for potential candidates:-

Conservative

Labour

Liberal Democrats are reported by the Guardian to be not organising candidates centrally, but allowing local parties to nominate candidates if no suitable independent candidate emerges.

Finally, here are the Wikipedia entries for Police and Crime Commissioner, and for the Elections to the posts in 2012.

Posted in Resources | Tagged | 2 Comments