UK: Police quangoes
01 March 1995
The complicated procedures under the Police and Magistrates Court Act 1994 for appointing "independent" members of the 41 newly constituted local police authorities has almost finished. Under the Act local police authorities are comprised of: 9 councillors, 3 magistrates, and 5 (or in 4 areas 6) "independent" members. These replace police authorities comprised two-thirds of local councillors, one third magistrates.
The first stage was the creation of selection panels to select the independent members. The selection panels were comprised of: one person appointed by the Home Secretary, one by the police authority, and one jointly agreed by the other two members.
The police authorities appointed 31 local councillors and 10 magistrates. Of those appointed by the Home Secretary 32 of the 41 were from businesses or quangoes. Business and quangoes accounted for 12 of the 41 people agreed to be the third appointment. Of the 123 people on selection panels there were 32 local councillors (1 was appointed as the third person), 10 magistrates and 44 people from business or quangoes.
The 41 selection panels received a total of 3,751 applications (an average of 91 per authority) for the 5 or 6 "independent" members to be appointed to each police authority.
By the end of 1994 the selection process had been completed for 38 police authorities, a total of 194 appointments. Of these there are 2 trade union officials compared to at least 80 business people or members of quangoes. The five appointed to the Wiltshire police authority comprise: a chartered accountant, a retired military adviser, a retired RAF officer, a civil servant and a retired army officer (they were appointed by a panel comprised of: a Managing Director, a magistrate and a farmer). In Hertfordshire there is: a company director, health authority chairman, a media consultant, a management consultant, and a naval security officer (appointed by a Personnel Director, a magistrate, and the Chair of the Probation Committee). In Kent: a company secretary, a retired chief fire officer, a solicitor, a retired solicitor, and a brigadier (appointed by a Company Executive, a magistrate and a retired local government officer). Perhaps the most egalitarian set of appointments is in South Wales where there is: a headteacher, a teacher, a TV news editor, the Canon of the Llandaff cathedral, and a trade union official (appointed by a retired Managing Director, a local councillor and a university professor).
The new police authorities which become free-standing quangoes under the 1994 Act (the link to local government having been severed) will have to cope with greater powers being given to the Chief Constables and key objectives laid down by the Home Secretary. Mr David Shattock, Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset, says of the new arrangement:
"We are in fact, with these centrally imposed key objectives, and with cash limits being set by the Home Secretary, moving towards a national police service; the concept of local direction and control is to a larger degree fictional."
Metropolitan Police Committee
Ever since it was formed in 1829 the Metropolitan Police in London has been solely accountable to the Home Secretary - the only police force in the country not to have a local police authority. The 1994 Act created the Metropolitan Police Committee with a solely consultative role to "advise" the Home Secretary. According to the Home Office press release it is "Technically.. a non-departmental public body". The Committee will have a full-time Secretariat comprised of Home Office officials. In December Mr Howard, the Home Secretary, appointed Sir John Quinton to chair the Committee. The appointment was immediately criticised by London local councillors. Sir John does not live in London but in Buckinghamshire and has no experience of policing matters although he has extensive knowledge of "the setting of budgets and monitoring performance". He is a former chairman<