Who is responsible for the Metropolitan Police?
George Orwell | 21.08.2005 10:39 | London
The killing of Jean Charles de Menezes raises fundamental questions as to who runs the Metropolitan Police Force and who is ultimately accountable for it: the Home Secretary, an MP from Norwich, or the people of London, who actually pay for it. To date their have been calls for Sir Ian Blair to resign, however less scrutiny has been given to those shadowy London politicians, who are appointed rather than elected to provide oversight of the Metropolitan Police.
At the beginning of the 21st century it is unacceptable that the Metropolitan Police should still be ultimately answerable to the Home Secretary, a national politician with no mandate from Londoners, rather than a proper local police authority, directly and democratically elected by the council tax-payers of London. Moreover, why should Londoner’s be continued to be forced to accept less democratic control over their police force, than people in Norfolk, Co. Durham or Fife do over their police-forces?
Of the 23 members of the Metropolitan Police Authority 6 'Independents' are directly appointed by the Home Secretary, 3 are appointed from London’s Magistrates Bench, 11 are appointed from London Assembly Members, there are 2 vice-chairs and a chairman, all appointed. The current chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority is Len Duvall who is also chairman of the London Labour Party. Therefore London finds itself in a situation like Saddam’s Iraq: the boss of the local police is also the boss of the government’s local party apparatus. No possible clash of interest there then!
The 23 members of the Metropolitan Police Authority have divide up London’s 32 Boroughs into geographical areas of special interest between themselves. The task of Metropolitan Police Authority members in their specific geographical areas is “…taking prime responsibility for interfacing with the key players, local group and local people in order to progress the key objectives of the MPA”. However, this creates some strange distribution of responsibilities, for example; Len Duvall a member of the Greater London Authority elected for Lewisham and Greenwich is responsible for Barking and Dagenham in the Metropolitan Police Authority.
In other words a politician that no-one in Barking and Dagenham ever voted for, is responsible for representing the people of Barking and Dagenham on the Metropolitan Police Authority. Furthermore, that the stated aim of the Authority is that the key objectives of the Metropolitan Police Authority take priority over the democratic wishes of the people of Barking and Dagenham.
After the slaying of Harry Stanley it was the responsibility of the Metropolitan Police Authority members to insure that another Londoner was not accidentally shot by armed policemen in the mistaken belief that they were a terrorist. In this responsibility the current Metropolitan Police Authority has clearly failed. As a result all of the current members of the Metropolitan Police Authority should be considering resigning along with the Commissioner Sir Ian Blair.
In place of the undemocratic cabal of political appointees, local-fixers and people no Londoner has every heard of, who currently run policing in the capital; a directly and fully elected Metropolitan Police Authority representing all of London’s 32 Boroughs must be established. Without such a mandate the Metropolitan Police Authority remains a political tool of which ever government is in power, rather than an independent, democratic and representative authority; charged with exercising democratic oversight of the capital’s police force.
Furthermore, an open and democratic police authority in London will insure in future that all policy decisions are transparent and subject to genuine political scrutiny by Londoners instead of secret shoot to kill policies, manipulation by the Home Secretary or political interference by number 10 Downing Street. This will not guarantee that the Metropolitan Police will not occasionally kill the wrong person, but it will insure that in future every Londoner will know exactly where the political responsibilities lie if they do.
Jean Charles de Menezes’ family have called for a demonstration at 6pm on Monday 22nd August 2005 at Downing Street. Every Londoner should support the Menezes family’s campaign for truth and justice. Every Londoner should be asking some hard questions about how our city is policed.
Of the 23 members of the Metropolitan Police Authority 6 'Independents' are directly appointed by the Home Secretary, 3 are appointed from London’s Magistrates Bench, 11 are appointed from London Assembly Members, there are 2 vice-chairs and a chairman, all appointed. The current chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority is Len Duvall who is also chairman of the London Labour Party. Therefore London finds itself in a situation like Saddam’s Iraq: the boss of the local police is also the boss of the government’s local party apparatus. No possible clash of interest there then!
The 23 members of the Metropolitan Police Authority have divide up London’s 32 Boroughs into geographical areas of special interest between themselves. The task of Metropolitan Police Authority members in their specific geographical areas is “…taking prime responsibility for interfacing with the key players, local group and local people in order to progress the key objectives of the MPA”. However, this creates some strange distribution of responsibilities, for example; Len Duvall a member of the Greater London Authority elected for Lewisham and Greenwich is responsible for Barking and Dagenham in the Metropolitan Police Authority.
In other words a politician that no-one in Barking and Dagenham ever voted for, is responsible for representing the people of Barking and Dagenham on the Metropolitan Police Authority. Furthermore, that the stated aim of the Authority is that the key objectives of the Metropolitan Police Authority take priority over the democratic wishes of the people of Barking and Dagenham.
After the slaying of Harry Stanley it was the responsibility of the Metropolitan Police Authority members to insure that another Londoner was not accidentally shot by armed policemen in the mistaken belief that they were a terrorist. In this responsibility the current Metropolitan Police Authority has clearly failed. As a result all of the current members of the Metropolitan Police Authority should be considering resigning along with the Commissioner Sir Ian Blair.
In place of the undemocratic cabal of political appointees, local-fixers and people no Londoner has every heard of, who currently run policing in the capital; a directly and fully elected Metropolitan Police Authority representing all of London’s 32 Boroughs must be established. Without such a mandate the Metropolitan Police Authority remains a political tool of which ever government is in power, rather than an independent, democratic and representative authority; charged with exercising democratic oversight of the capital’s police force.
Furthermore, an open and democratic police authority in London will insure in future that all policy decisions are transparent and subject to genuine political scrutiny by Londoners instead of secret shoot to kill policies, manipulation by the Home Secretary or political interference by number 10 Downing Street. This will not guarantee that the Metropolitan Police will not occasionally kill the wrong person, but it will insure that in future every Londoner will know exactly where the political responsibilities lie if they do.
Jean Charles de Menezes’ family have called for a demonstration at 6pm on Monday 22nd August 2005 at Downing Street. Every Londoner should support the Menezes family’s campaign for truth and justice. Every Londoner should be asking some hard questions about how our city is policed.
George Orwell
Comments
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The Metropolitan Police
22.08.2005 14:36
We'll fit you up at ease
We're earning megabucks on overtime
We're the Metropolitan Police
We're answerable to nobody
We just do as we please
We've a tremendous time with speeding fines
We're the Metropolitan Police
We don't have to catch no criminals
Whats the point of that?
That is far too risky
For blokes overweight and fat
Jack Regan was our hero
We've joined our chosen clique
We call all our colleagues "skipper"
To our public we say "you're nicked"
Don't ask us to explain ourselves
We won't, but even try
We'll shoot an unarmed citizen
Then tell a pack of lies!
We dig the dirt
On those we've hurt
Just ordinary blokes
Internal investigations?
We laugh them off as jokes!
Don't you try and mess with us
We'll bang you up without release
We'll make sure that you serve your time
We're the Metropolitan Police!
Its about the time to end this rhyme
Of remarks that are sure to cut
I'm off down to my local factory
To get well and truly fitted up!
peace.
kev.
kev
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Direct elections probably wouldn't improve it
24.08.2005 17:52
Ultimately, though, the Home Secretary is responsible for all policing in the country. If you really don't like the way things are going, don't vote Labour.
12 of the MPA members are there because they are democratically elected members of the London Assembly. Londoners voted for them and they can vote for someone else if they don't like them.
Now, how about the various people that are the independent members?
Toby Harris has had a long career as a Labour councillor in London and has worked for various consumer campaigns. Doesn't sound like a Nazi.
Kirsten Hearn is an "empowerment coach" and is a committee member of national organisation of Disabled Lesbians, Gay men and Bisexuals. Doesn't sound very fascist.
Peter Herbert is a barrister and chair of the Society of Black Lawyers, a campaigning human rights advocate with a wide range of interests from employment discrimination to deaths in custody and child care law. He's probably not a racist or a supporter of impunity for police violence and discrimination.
Karim Murji is a sociology lecturer at the Open University. His research has focussed on drugs, policing, race and racism.
John Roberts is a community worker, a counsellor and psychotherapist. He works with people with drug and alcohol problems and homeless people. He probably doesn't read the Daily Mail.
Abdal Ullah works with voluntary, youth and Faith organizations in east London. He's a governor of Queen Mary college and a London board member of the Muslim Council of Britain and the Commission for Racial Equality. He's unlikely to be Islamophobic.
What you'd actually get if you had direct elections is a considerably number of hard-line Tories from the suburbs who I very much doubt would be any better placed to hold the police to account than this lot. Still, all ideas welcomed.
Zorro