Police and Justice Bill

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his helpful intervention—but we can use the example, because in the model that I advocate, a mayor directly elected in an area co-terminous with a police authority area could take on that responsibility. Where that did not happen, a sheriff, rather than a police authority, could make the appointment. As with the mayor of New York, there would be a separation of operational responsibilities and the ability to appoint the head of the police to exercise those responsibilities. I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving me the opportunity to clarify that. I should be happy to send him a copy of a paper that I have written on the matter, if he would like that. The 2004 White Paper was encouraging because it covered decentralisation, but I regret to say that the Bill does not deliver that. Instead, it paves the way for the merger of police forces—for regionalisation, not greater local accountability. Almost every year, irrespective of which party is in government, we appear to have a police Bill. However, until we achieve effective local control, we shall never get the local policing that people want. Until we push power down to the local level and have democratic, not corporatist, local accountability, we will get the policing that the remote élites want us to have. Until we make the change to genuine localism, crime and disorder will continue to increase every year.