Major decision now awaits new Police and Crime Commissioner
THE inbox of whoever is elected as Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset next month has just got an awful lot fuller,
The most significant responsibility the £86,000-per-year commissioner faces is the power to appoint a chief constable.
And whoever is declared the winner of the poll on May 6 will have very little time to get their feet under the desk before making the decision that will almost certainly define their term in office.
Chief Constable Andy Marsh’s decision not to seek a new contract comes at a time when policing is under an intense spotlight.
Bristol has been at the epicentre of this over the past few weeks, with a series of high-series protests against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
One of them descended into a full-scale riot, with counter-claims of heavy-handed policing at some subsequent protests.
The politicisation of policing is undoubtedly increasing, something a 2018 report by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) said was contributing to shorter tenures of chief constables and the loss of valuable policing experience.
It said the police and crime commissioner model had led to some commissioners wanting to essentially appoint their ‘own chief ’.
This politicisation is something Mr Marsh is all too aware of after Conservative Home Secretary Priti Patel reportedly broke protocol last summer to contact him directly to voice her displeasure at how Avon and Somerset Police had handled the protests that saw the statue of Edward Colston toppled.
Mr Marsh, who is in his mid-50s, did not say yesterday whether that played a part in his not seeking an extension to his contract.
Chief constables are appointed to a five-year term with the option of it being extended by an initial three years and then on a rolling annual basis.
Avon and Somerset has received broadly positive inspections by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services during Mr Marsh’s tenure.
That 2018 NPCC report suggested the introduction of the police and crime commissioner model had, though, accelerated the trend of falling tenure of chief constables, decreasing to only 3.8 years by 2018.
The report also said it has led to a dearth of candidates due to the increasingly “precarious nature of the chief constable role”.
Until now Avon and Somerset has only had an independent commissioner, but after two terms in office Sue Mountstevens is stepping down next month.
Last month the
profiled the candidates who are standing to replace her in an election that has suddenly become much more urgent.
They are: Kerry Barker (Labour); Cleo Lake (Green); Heather Shearer (Liberal Democrat); Mark Shelford (Conservative) and John Smith (Independent).
Their first and most important role is going to be identifying and appointing a chief constable for the West’s biggest police force.