Police commissioners who needs them?

The answer controversially is we do, we need someone awkward enough to tell, Kent's senior police officers when things are clearly in need of improvement, now don't get me wrong I'm not anti police as a default position but there have been times in the last few years, when I've thought who holds our Kent police to account, when things go wrong.

Well some would say that the Kent police authority, has held that role, and I would say that rather than a regulator, they've acted more like a fan club or supporters club. On the whole Kent police officers are as far as I can tell, in the main honest people doing a tough job, not a career many of us would be suited.

Still from time to time, there have in my opinion been times, when Kent police have got things badly wrong, such as heavy handed treatment at the climate camp, at Northfleet, a few years ago,along with other questionable occurrences.

It is my impression that over my years, of looking at events in Kent, that on the odd occasion Kent police, have shown themselves to have let us down, no big deal really, but I just wonder if members of the police authority, have ever held the chief constable to account, in any serious way, such that the post holder has had consider revising their CV.

It's fair to say that, as it has been reported in the local press, there is little public awareness, that in November, elections will take place for the new PCC position. Interestingly for me came news last week, that the current head of the police authority Anne Barnes, who has after devoting some considerable criticism of new police and crime commissioner role, has now decided to become a candidate.

Still my biggest criticism, of the current police authorities, is the question of what do they actually do, back last year I wrote how Kent police had concluded that thirty percent of reported rapes were in fact non crime, it seemed rather an extraordinary idea that almost one in three women would, go to their local police station to report a fictitious rape.

I think at the time, this was met with some disbelief in the community and yet as far as I can tell the police authority did nothing, apart from forget about it, Kent on Sunday, this weekend highlighted the lack of interest in the police crime commissioner on the front page and sadly reporting a ten percent rise in sexual offenses, could all this be related?

Maybe it's a question Anne Barnes could answer during her campaign for the commissioners job?

Finally if any one has a few grand to spare I wouldn't mind standing myself.