Many may feel that the PCC elections, due to take place on 15th November, will prove to be an unhelpful diversion for a Police force which has a good record in reducing crime in York and North Yorkshire at a levy of £200 per for the average household.

The Force has a achieved this under the general guidance of a broadly based “Police Authority” which included Councillors from all over the area, and with differing political views, together with several magistrates.

The structure of Police Authorities is far from perfect. They include no directly elected representatives and therefore accountability with the electorate is at best indirect. So a refinement of its membership, roles and responsibilities may have been overdue.

Nor have all Chief Constables always shown sensitivity and respect for the concerns of local residents. Several examples of apparently unnecessary expenditure have emerged over the last few decades, while recently there have been reports of inappropriate nepotism in recruitment processes.

However, electing a single politician to take responsibility for addressing crime issues is an over-reaction to the perceived weaknesses of the present system. At worst it could bring into question the political impartiality of the Police.

At a salary of £70,000, plus significant on costs, it may also be a role that the taxpayer simply can’t afford.

Over the last few days other concerns have emerged.

2 Labour candidates for the posts (elsewhere in the country) have been forced to stand down. They had committed offences in their younger days and, although not jailed, it was judged that their “experience” was inappropriate for someone towards the top of the justice system. They have been forced to stand down although the Labour party has yet to explain how they came to be selected in the first place.

Last week a judge ruled that existing JPs (magistrates) must resign before they can take up a PCC job. Initially the Judge had said that the ban on JPs would apply to anyone standing as a CANDIDATE, although this view was apparently quickly reversed. The revised guidance says that, for this first round of elections, as long as they undertake not to sit on the bench while the campaign is in progress, candidates will not have to resign as JPs unless they are elected.

Stranger still – according to The Guardian – is the presumption now that members of the – largely advisory – Police and Crime Panels may also have to resign if they also serve as a JP. The Police and Crime Panel (PCP) will have the ability to veto the Commissioner’s plans for the police’s share of council-tax bills and their proposed candidates to be Chief Constable, as long as it has a two-thirds majority on any vote.

The membership of the York and North Yorkshire Police and Crime Panels was announced a couple of weeks ago. It includes at least 1 J.P.

Only 2 candidates have so far been announced for the PCC post in York and North Yorkshire. They are Julia Mulligan a Conservative (http://juliamulligan.org.uk/) and Ruth Potter Labour: (http://www.yorklabour.org.uk/police/)

Other potential candidates may be discouraged by the £5000 deposit that each will have to find.

There will be no postage paid election address delivered so many residents will have to trawl the internet to get details of the candidates and their policies.