‘Take power from police chiefs and give it to minister’
THE Home Secretary should be given powers to set policing priorities because local force structures in England and Wales are ‘no longer fit for purpose’, a watchdog has said.
Sir Tom Winsor, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, is to publish proposals for a national decision-making body which would take power away from chief constables.
He wants to give Priti Patel authority to force through decisions in this new forum, as well as a veto on proposals made by chief officers.
If adopted, it would be seen as a highly controversial departure from the traditional style of British policing, which currently enjoys minimal interference from Whitehall.
Sir Tom’s report also said the public may need to ‘tolerate’ crimes such as burglary and car theft going unsolved unless they are prepared to pay more through their council tax.
In a 200-page annual State of Policing document, he stated: ‘In some important respects, the current 43-force structure is no longer fit for purpose. To an unacceptable degree, major decisions can be influenced by parochialism.
‘Until the structure of policing in England and Wales has been substantially modernised... the service’s efficiency will continue to be compromised.’
He added that chief constables should ‘pool their sovereignty by signing up to a network code’ or a central decision-making body. However, he recognised that some police bosses ‘may be reluctant to do so’.
Sir Tom said the Home Secretary should have ‘special voting rights’ in that new panel.
‘She has a perfectly legitimate right to stop things from happening that are unaffordable or ineffective or inefficient, or... the wrong thing to do on national policy grounds,’ he said. ‘Therefore, she should have at least a veto. But a veto that’s exercisable on specified and predictable grounds.’
Asked whether she should also be able to force through policies under the proposal, the chief inspector said: ‘Yes, I think the Home Secretary should have that right. There need to be checks and balances but that is a matter for consultation.’
Miss Patel was criticised by her political opponents last month after she intervened in the case of the toppling of the
‘Special voting rights’
statue of a 17th century slave trader in Bristol during Black Lives Matter protests.
She was accused of acting inappropriately after reportedly having a ‘firm’ discussion with Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Andy Marsh about why his officers did not intervene when the monument was torn down.
A new mechanism allowing her to direct police policies across England and Wales would be even more controversial.
Sir Tom also warned that taxes would need to rise if more cases are to be solved. Currently just 6 per cent of burglaries and 3 per cent of vehicle crime leads to an offender being brought to justice. ‘How much unsolved crime is the public prepared to tolerate?’ he asked.
‘Does the public want to pay more for a better service? That is a public policy question which is not for the Inspectorate.’
Deputy Chief Constable Bernie O’Reilly, of the College of Policing, said: ‘The challenges set out in the report further demonstrate the need for greater collaboration and coherence across policing.’