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Several relatives of Bob Jones have been involved with public service, and he has a passion for social justice Public service is not just a way of life for Association of Police Authorities (APA) chairman, Bob Jones, it is a family tradition. The Wolverhampton city councillor can boast eight family members who have also been councillors at one point or another. Cllr Jones, himself, has been an elected member since 1980, and has held a variety of cabinet and portfolio roles at Wolverhampton City Council, including finance, education and youth. ‘I was brought up in that environment,' he says. ‘I have a strong passion for social justice. We were expected to serve the community in our family.' Although he has been APA chairman since 2005, he has been involved with police authorities, first in the West Midlands and later at a national level, since 1985. The MJ recently reported on a number of associations setting inflation-busting precepts, but Cllr Jones says only four in England have set rises above 10%, and a further nine have agreed increases of between 5% and 9%. Cllr Jones says the increases were made on the basis of priorities set by local communities, particularly for more officers on the street, and although the percentages may sound large, they are ‘a handful of pence per week' on the average council tax bill. He adds that in some cases, the rises correct ‘historical anomalies' in terms of funding, and are one-offs which will not be replicated in following years. He says there is an increasing amount of partnership working between the police and councils in the West Midlands. Cllr Jones says local authority liaison officers are working in every chief executive office to bring the police's perspective into the local authority. One of the areas in which councils and police forces are increasingly working together is combatting anti-social behaviour and binge-drinking. New powers come into force in April which will allow police officers and councils to pinpoint problem areas and levy an extra charge on pubs and clubs. But, he admits, there is a growing problem caused by new laws, which mean that councils have to take into account previous problems when granting an alcohol licence for shops. The problem for new shops or off-licences is that there is no prior evidence, and so councils cannot refuse permission, despite conerns from the local police and the local authority itself. ‘Councils have not been able to take into proper consideration about what might happen,' he says. ‘They have to take into account what has happened.' Cllr Jones says police forces and councils around the country are sharing services and working together successfully. ‘Local councils have a key role in local strategic partnerships in dealing with counter-terrorism,' he adds. A case will be coming to court shortly after a librarian ‘observed someone looking at inappropriate websites and reported it back', which demonstrates the role which council staff can play. ‘We have good, effective joined-up working with MI5 and that was the basis of that operation, which has saved a lot of lives.' Cllr Jones says there is no appetite among police authorities for mergers or major structural reform. He also warns against political control of police authorities and councillors directly appointing chief constables. ‘From a police authority point of view, I do believe there is an opportunity for greater accountability, but only if it is at a local or neighbourhood level,' says Cllr Jones. ‘We should be working with councils to set up local forums where people can have their say. If people show they can own their local community, then that is the biggest way to deter further crime.'

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WHITEHALL

Bobby is on the beat

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