Conclusions

Abstract

There are some issues which, for the good of the nation, must override party political interests; this book has set out to demonstrate that independent policing is one such issue. Traditional methods of policing in the United Kingdom are so important that they should not be controlled, either directly or indirectly, by the normal processes of democracy at local government level. Indeed, the party political independence of the Chief Constable when he is acting in an operational role should be protected as part of the unwritten constitution which is capable of amendment only in Parliament. In other words, policing policies and activities connected with law enforcement and the preservation of the Queen’s Peace should not be amenable to control by any person or group that could be perceived to be party politically motivated. The reasons for this fundamental principle are simple: it would be inequitable, potentially corrupt, and the policing values throughout the country would be uncertain if a local political party for partisan reasons, however noble they perceived them to be, were able to choose which laws were to be enforced rigorously, which were to be ignored, and which areas or people were to receive police attention. Put simply, it is dangerous to the principle of equality under the law if policing policies simply reflect the local political majority of the day.