New CXO instead of front line police services!
As Staffordshire cuts costs, unelected Police Authority ‘bods’ choose bureaucracy over front line services…
Just amazing, particularly because under Government plans in 18 months time Staffordshire Police Authority will be scrapped completely.
And so the thick end of £100k annual salary for a brand new Police Authority Chief Exec seems extraordinary just as they are looking to cut front line services by disbanding the motorcycle police unit.
Non-elected independents & Liberal Democrats outvote Conservatives
This despite protests from Conservatives on the Police Authority. And the fact the CXO will only be around until the demise of Staffordshire Police Authority means they’ll likely be a second decent severance payout in due course.
Until a couple of years ago the Police Authority was administered, on a relative shoestring, by the County and the CXO then was the County’s Chief Officer on a very part time basis. Not so now, as recently the Police Authority has grown in admin and massively in costs.
The County even offered to have Staffordshire’s Chief Officer cover the interim for the Police Authority as in the past but no. This was debated by the County today and every Party but the Liberal Democrats were utterly appalled at the likely scrapping of the police motor cycles in favour of a new and expensive bureaucrat.
To be clear, this is public money being wasted by unelected Police Authority appointees despite Staffordshire as a whole being run by Conservatives. Nonsense.
Financial crisis… what crisis?
Click here to comment on this post
9 comments
These are the same bunch who hiked the council tax looking at your website.
How does this work Matthew? Can you, as the elected ones get rid of these unelected individuals. And if so, why aren’t you doing just that. How can any police force work without motorcycle riders. We have the Arboretum and I often see motorbikes escorting royalty to there. I assume the bikes are needed for that. Are the visits to there stopping because of this? We don’t need more pen pushers and whilst I like everyone else understand the money problems I can’t support getting rid of a front end service to gain another ’suit’.
I’m really surprised that the people involved with running the police aren’t elected. Actually, I’m rather shocked at this story. If it’s right, it’s very wrong indeed.
I barely know what a police authority is or where to start on this subject. Having researched it a little more I’m absolutely amazed that these bodies have unelected people on them. I, and nobody else for that matter, haven’t given them a mandate to act on my behalf. So called ‘independents’… what right have they got to decide anything. The politicians are bad enough (present company excepted because it’s clear you work hard for your constituents) but magistrates!! Why? and don’t they have a conflict of interest? This is pretty shocking and from what I can tell from their pretty awful website it seems the chairman (can’t find out if he gets paid and how much) isn’t even elected in any way by the public. Has he ever stood for public office? Who chose him and how? And how can we, the public, kick him out if he’s no good… he’s clearly hopeless looking at this decision. And as a now ‘ex’ Liberal Democrat what on earth are they playing at supporting these fools. A bad day for democracy I’m afraid. This needs sorting out!!!
I’ve never heard of these people until now. I thought we had a democratic society. I agree with your strength of feeling which comes over strongly in your speech. Well done. Good to see someone saying how it is. I’m not from your part of Staffordshire but good luck with it. I too am ‘offended’ by this and the system.
Matthew,
If this wasn’t so serious it would be funny, wouldn’t it. How many brain cells do these people operate with? When every man and his wife is trying to save money, wouldn’t you think our PUBLIC SERVANTS would try to do their bit too? When we have talk of ‘front line services’ being cut, just what do these people think they’re doing?
Is there no way that waste like this can be eliminated? I’d love to get stuck into a ‘problem’ like this!
Regards,
Mike Fairweather
@Tony Coton – well if the most vital function of the motorbikes is escorting royalty then quite frankly we can do without them!
This seems to be happening with a number of Quango’s. They are appointing new people knowing that in at most a few months they will cease to exist. Presumably the new person will be on a rolling contract and get a large payoff in about a years time. Not sure how these 100’s (1,000’s?) of unelected bodies got created but it’s well past time many of them ceased to exist.
We are in tough times but I find, if what you portray is correct, the short sighted approach of these people extraordinary and smewhat insulting.
I also find it amazing and disturbing that as the culprits aren’t elected there is nothing anyone can do. I hadn’s realised we had fallen into a non democratic country. Clearly we have.
I wasn’t a fan of the new government plans for elected commissioners but anything has to be better than this. Magistrates… why? Independents… why?
Very worrying, and probably not widely known!
Unbelievable!
Leave a Comment