- Conference
- 2012 Police & Justice Conference
- Date
- 24 May 2012
- Decision
- Carried
On 15th November, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) will be elected across England and Wales and each will replace the respective Police Authority that is currently in place for their force area.
PCC will have responsibility for the full budget of their respective force, including where and how the budget is spent in relation to policing and crime reduction. This could include PCC, who have a duty, as stated in the Home Office’s Policing Protocol Order 2011, entering into collaborative agreements with other PCC, bodies and partners that “improve the efficiency or effectiveness of policing”.
Some prospective candidates for the role of PCC have already stated that the “out-sourcing” of jobs and services is on the agenda if they are elected.
Conference, most, if not all, of us know or have heard about the out-sourcing or privatisation of police staff jobs in many of the police forces that our colleagues across the union work and the concern and stress that it causes our members. However, the election of PCC will present new and potentially greater challenges to us all in UNISON.
In addition to the current unwelcome trend towards the privatisation of policing services and the prospect that the election of PCC could hasten the privatisation agenda, there are also, by allowing one person so much responsibility, the questions of accountability and fair service delivery.
The aforementioned Policing Protocol Order says that “the PCC within each force area has a statutory duty and electoral mandate to hold the police to account on behalf of the public” and that the PCC should use this mandate to set and shape the strategic objectives for their force area in consultation with the Chief Constable (CC).
But, how accountable will the PCC be to the public when many of them will be elected with political party backing? Will this lead to the politicisation of the police service, seeing as it is only one person that the party or government has to influence? Dr. Tim Brain, former CC of Gloucestershire Police, asks the question “who’s to say x, y or z won’t give them a ring and tell them how they should be thinking or to skew policing priorities to more attractive, popular measures that may give them an electoral advantage?” In effect who pays the piper chooses the tune.
Conference, this leads us to the allocation of resources. Many police forces already struggle trying to deal effectively with some of the most vulnerable victims and groups within society. But there is a danger that what few resources are put into addressing these key operational areas, particularly “less popular” issues that affect minority communities, such as forced marriages or addressing some hate crimes will be reduced to deal with populist crime priorities like litter and dog fouling.
Conference, there is a very real danger that some of the most vulnerable groups in society, groups that have little or no voice to influence the policing agenda will suffer after the election of PCC unless we as a union, keep abreast of the changes and on top of what could happen within the police service with the election of PCC.
Conference therefore calls on the Service Group Executive to:
1)Prioritise training for branches so as to raise awareness and highlight how to fight, tackle and at the very least, minimise the impact of any prospective outsourcing/privatisation plans the PCC may consider.
2)Work with branches so they can more effectively raise awareness within their force areas, of not only what the impact any out-sourcing will have on policing, but also the issues around accountability and the allocation of resources and how this will affect the policing of minority and/or vulnerable groups.
3)Instruct branches in how to use tools like equality impact assessments and relevant legislation so they can try to address any concerns around the allocation of police resources for minority and vulnerable groups. Including highlighting to members that they, as members of the public, can effectively hold their force to account through the PCC.