I have been giving much thought to how an elected Police
& Crime Commissioner will work with the CPS. Of course operational matters are with the Chief
Constable, but the way the police work and the systems they use will be
affected and the way the CPS works with the Police will by logic be affected as
well.
I have lawyer friends and police friends, lawyers complain
at the low level of educational attainment of some police and the quality of their
paper work, Police friends and various Police blogs bear witness to the Police
constables poor opinion of the CPS and the lawyers employed.
Any conflict up and till now has either been hidden or
fudged, but when you get an elected PCC I think his or her reputation will stand
on the performance of the Police and the number of successful
prosecutions. Second best will not suffice,
so I think there will be real tensions in the relationship. Also the fact that the PCC has an elected
mandate will strengthen his/her hand to act.
How will a successful PCC cope with these tensions and
manage any crisis, well I believe that systems will reduce friction and drive
up quality, so breaking down inefficient systems and re-working them to cut
failure will play an important part of minimising tension. But personal relationships based on trust and
even handedness will be the back bone of dealing with disputes and problems.
If the PCC is to be successful, then they have to be aware
of these problems from the start and plan how to deal with them, this is ultimately
good management and something I am aware of and very willing to confront
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