Vetting procedure for PCCs criticised

Vetting procedures will not be enforced on candidates who put themselves forward for Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) roles, the Policing Minister Nick Herbert has revealed – leaving the door open for potentially controversial candidates.
The Policing Reform and Social Responsibility Bill was introduced on December 1 by the Home Secretary Theresa May as part of the Government’s overall plans to change the policing system in the country, which if passed by Parliament, will see PCCs elected in force areas by 2012, replacing the current police authority system.
PCC positions will be open to any member of the public, with statutory preventions in place for office – broadly in line with that of MPs
However, the Government has come under criticism for saying that candidates will not be vetted.
Mr Herbert pointed to the office of Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary as examples of unvetted individuals holding senior positions.
“There are the statutory preventions to office which are the same broadly as for MPs; you’ll be surprised to know that MPs can’t be lunatics, can’t be bankrupt and can’t be convicted of a criminal offence longer than a certain jail term and so on.
“We can’t start saying that we are going to vet people and not allow them to stand for senior elected positions, we don’t say that about MPs or about the Home Secretary, or about the Foreign Secretary, or anyone else. We rely on the political process of scrutiny and accountability to do that.
“The PCC candidate is going to have to stand on a credible platform that they are going to hold the police force to account properly,” said Mr Herbert.
The Home Office said the Bill sets out the checks and balances that will be in place, through the creation of Police and Crime Panels (PCPs), to scrutinise the actions of PCCs.
The PCP will be made up of local council members, including at least two independents, although they will require a three-quarters majority to veto commissioners’ proposals.
Mr Herbert said that all parties will be free to put forward candidates, but it will be up to them to ensure that they are credible and of “good quality”.
“I think increasingly, attention will turn on how we ensure that we get good quality candidates forward. We do think that parties should be able to put candidates forward, I don’t think either in principle or practice it’s right to stop them. Also as independents,” added Mr Herbert.