Are the police accountable? There are many ‘modernisers' on both the left and right who regard the police as the last bastion of public sector producerism. Add that to complaints from the public that the police appear to operate under their own priorities and ought to come under more rigorous local scrutiny, and there is a groundswell for reform. The critics are by no means the usual suspects, and with the Green Paper on police reform, will have their opportunity to make their voices known. The LGA's Sir Simon Milton has long-argued the case for greater local accountability through local government. The recent Flanagan report was hardly effusive about the role of police authorities, although he stopped short of recommending their abolition altogether. And the left of centre IPPR this week adds its own pennyworth, with a call for more local government control of police, although with local variations. The critics, however, must not get too carried away with structure. The public show little appetite for more elections such as for directly-elected police authorities, or even for directly-elected commissioners. Nor are people especially concerned about the internal management of police forces, important as this is for efficiency. This is a matter for the auditors and the – non- uniformed – inspectors. What they are worried about, however, is the police ability to reflect local public priorities, mostly in tackling low-level ASB. In the public's eyes, the police are brilliant at catching murderers, bank robbers and rapists. Thankfully, for most of us, these are unfamiliar events. For most people criminal activity is much more mundane. But in the public mind, too little attention is paid to it by the police. The famous ‘broken window' strategy appears in too many cases to be an alien concept to police for whom low-level ASB is a minor nuisance and police stations operate from nine to five. The police need to reflect these priorities and to welcome ways in which the public's concerns can be addressed, however apparently trivial. But the continuing concern about police accountability must be an issue for police authorities. They are democratic functions which, judging by the chorus of disapproval, are not up to the job. Michael Burton Editor, The MJ
