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This page contains press release 75/03, in which the MPA today joined the call to keep Britain’s police authorities free of gimmicks and interference.
Warning: This is archived material and may be out of date. The Metropolitan Police Authority has been replaced by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC).
See the MOPC website for further information.
Policing is too important for gimmicks
75/03
07 October 2003
The Metropolitan Police Authority today joined the call to keep Britain’s police authorities free of gimmicks and interference.
Toby Harris, Chair of the MPA, said:
“Policing is too important an issue for experimentation. The idea that gimmicks can be imported directly to Britain from the United States, when it isn’t at all clear that the interaction between the political and policing actually works to everyone’s advantage, is naïve.
“The independence of police authorities is a fundamental principle of our system and their capability to recruit independent and magistrate members from their communities has strengthened their role in reflecting local diversity and concerns.
“Police authorities also reflect democratic accountability in their composition by having directly elected local politicians on their boards. Authority members ensure that policing meets local needs, consult with their communities to find out what people want from their police service and hold them to account for delivery against the targets we have set.
“The Metropolitan Police Authority rejects the suggestion that police authorities do not act on behalf of their communities and reflect their diversity.”
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