Labour police proposals a bad idea
20 October 2008
Green councillors on Brighton and Hove City Council have warned that Labour proposals to directly elect members of Sussex Police Authority will divert cash from neighbourhood policing.
There is a risk of increasing racist and homophobic hate crime in the city, said Green community safety spokesperson Cllr Ben Duncan.
Ben who is the Green candidate for Brighton Kemptown constituency at the general election (pictured left) condemned the proposal.
He said, "As our economy worsens we need to focus more resources on neighbourhood policing.
"Locally, burglary and car crime are both on the rise, as people increasingly struggle to make ends meet with poverty and unemployment levels getting worse everyday.
"Of course we need communities to become more involved in decisions about policing.
"But the way to do that is to allow them to participate in spending decisions, not simply to introduce another tier of elections without even explaining if the cost will be met by taking police off our streets.
"I am deeply concerned that direct elections to Sussex Police Authority will open the door to extremists and single-issue campaigners.
"It will drown out the voices of our city's distinct and vulnerable group's and communities."
Ben, who represents Brighton's Queen's Park ward, is a member of Sussex Police Authority, made his comments after members of the Community Safety Forum voted to back Labour calls for a new tier of elections for police managers
The Forum also ruled out devolving some of the police budget for community groups and Local Action Team's to spend on local policing and crime-prevention priorities.
Ben added: “Direct elections will inevitably mean different political parties back different candidates.
"You only need to look to the Metropolitan police to see the dangers of that kind of political sponsorship."
Notes to editors:
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