New role in police complaints

8:30am Monday 10th December 2012 in News

Angus Macpherson, Wiltshire’s police and crime commissioner Angus Macpherson, Wiltshire’s police and crime commissioner

WILTSHIRE Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson is to recruit an independent adjudicator to determine appeals into complaints against police officers.

The new Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel, which scutinises the work of the commissioner, was told at a meeting on Wednesday that a recruitment process was about to begin to appoint the part-time adjudicator on a salary of less than £10,000.

Kieran Kilgallen, chief executive of the commissioner’s office, told the panel the Independent Police Complaints Commission was no longer going to deal with appeals against decisions into complaints about police officers.

Mr Kilgallen, who was previously chief executive of the now abolished Wiltshire Police Authority, said: “It will enable us to fulfil the role done by the police authority’s professional standards committee.

“If you are not happy about a complaint you can go to an independent person – someone who has knowledge of the law relating to complaints and can provide an independent view.”

Mr Macpherson said it was important to have someone independent in the role as often people do not trust politicians or the police to investigate themselves.

There are about 50 appeals a year in Wiltshire resulting from complaint decisions against police.

The panel, which met at Devizes Town Hall, was also told of the recruitment process for a substantive Chief Constable. The post is currently held by temporary Chief Constable Patrick Geenty.

The panel will have the power to veto the commissioner’s appointment.

Panel member councillor Brian Ford, a former member of Wiltshire Police Authority, was concerned that with so many vacancies for Chief Constables around the country there might not be a high quality of candidates applying.

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The panel also has the power to veto a rise in the precept for Wiltshire Police’s share of the Council Tax bill.

The Panel’s next meeting will be on January 4 in the Corn Exchange, Devizes, at 10am.

Comments(11)

The Real Librarian says...
11:42am Mon 10 Dec 12

Fifty cases a year is a morning a month.

Where do we apply?

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Bethy K says...
4:15pm Mon 10 Dec 12

And so it begins, I reckon a deputy PCC next on £60k, they'll need an office staff as well. Then The PCC office will expand into a little empire. Money we could spend on Police Officers.

I notice the Northants Tory PCC has recruited four of his friends and contacts as assistant PCCs, each on £65k. Beggars belief!

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Wellfire says...
5:25pm Mon 10 Dec 12

Bethy K wrote:
And so it begins, I reckon a deputy PCC next on £60k, they'll need an office staff as well. Then The PCC office will expand into a little empire. Money we could spend on Police Officers.

I notice the Northants Tory PCC has recruited four of his friends and contacts as assistant PCCs, each on £65k. Beggars belief!
I couldn't agree more. The newly elected PCCs - and I make no political distinction here - are busily building themselves empires using the public purse and not a single one of them has the mandate to buy a box of paper clips. Beggars belief is an understatement. Scandal is more like it.

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Empty Car Park says...
7:21pm Mon 10 Dec 12

easy to see why the majority chose not to vote.

seems like political wastage that would be better invested in actual police officers and equipment

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I 2 Could B says...
11:17pm Mon 10 Dec 12

Empty Car Park says...
easy to see why the majority chose not to vote.

Yes, presumably they didn't want to have any say in who was elected as their local PCC.

It never ceases to amaze me that some people thought they were making some kind of statement by not voting, did they think maybe the whole might be scrapped if not enough people turned up?

The reality is that it was always going to go ahead and now has gone ahead. For the life of me, I can't see what deliberately not voting achieved for anyone.

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Bethy K says...
9:22am Tue 11 Dec 12

I agree, not voting as a protest is a silly position. The problem with the PCC election was that there was no box to tick "I don't want this". That would have won.

I bet this new position will go to an ex or current magistrate from Swindon, who may have sat on the bench with the PCC. One word, cronyism.

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Wellfire says...
10:14am Tue 11 Dec 12

Bethy K wrote:
I agree, not voting as a protest is a silly position. The problem with the PCC election was that there was no box to tick "I don't want this". That would have won.

I bet this new position will go to an ex or current magistrate from Swindon, who may have sat on the bench with the PCC. One word, cronyism.
There was no alternative. I didn't vote because I am opposed to the politicization of the police. Unlike a local or national election it was, for me, never a question of which candidate I should choose. I didn't want any of them - and yes, I did some research before the vote and even the party activists I spoke to were vague on what the job actually was and the necessity for it. It had 'jobs for the boys' written all over it.

We all know what politicians are like. If there had been a good turnout they would have taken it as an endorsement of the scheme. Not voting was the only option for those of us who disagree and a perfectly legitimate one in my view.

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Empty Car Park says...
12:48pm Tue 11 Dec 12

My thoughts exactly Wellfire

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I 2 Could B says...
2:11pm Tue 11 Dec 12

@Wellfire: not voting had asbolutely no effect. Nothing changed, no 'message' was sent.

All that happened was that those who didn't vote didn't have any say at all over who got the job.

If the government had said, in advance, "If the turnout is less than 20%, we'll call the whole thing off", I'd have probably joined you in not voting - but they didn't, and were never going to. As such, I felt it sensible to at least make my selection and vote. After all, I certainly didn't want that Trade Union woman involved in our policing.

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LordAshOfTheBrake says...
7:23pm Tue 11 Dec 12

A protest vote should always be represented by a spoilt ballot paper. Not bothering to turn up means nothing.

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Empty Car Park says...
9:22pm Tue 11 Dec 12

LordAshOfTheBrake wrote:
A protest vote should always be represented by a spoilt ballot paper. Not bothering to turn up means nothing.
That's exactly what I did.

mind you the powers that be seem to have interpreted that as voters not knowing how to........... vote?

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