Whitehall set for an unfair cop.

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By Colin Cramphorn
Colin Cramphorn is the Association of Chief Police Officers’ portfolio holder for Constitutional Affairs and the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire.

QUIETLY, and without serious debate, a revolution is taking place around the future of policing in England and Wales.
While one element of this revolution %u2013 restructuring %u2013 has belatedly attracted some attention, little if any scrutiny has been made of its more fundamental elements.
Who has any knowledge, for example, of the contents of the Police and Justice Bill or the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill?

We know about it don’t we? And our mps know that we know. I just don’t know how we let the media know that we know and we care.

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9 Comments

  1. Posted Tue Mar 28 2006 at 9:34 | Permalink

    Good to hear that someone in his position is saying it however.

    I am still unclear about the potential for fine tuning in this bill. Is it the case, as so many MP respondents (including mine…lib/dem) seem to be saying that it is possible that this bill could be amended so that it will only cut the red tape, without it having the potential to hand the government the powers of a dictatorship?

    Am not sure whether or not it is essentially possible to reform this bill in the way these MPs have suggested. Any disinterested info gratefully accepted!

  2. Posted Tue Mar 28 2006 at 9:36 | Permalink

    The papers only care that we know what they tell us. Their profit comes from being trusted messengers for the establishment’s harbingers.

  3. Posted Tue Mar 28 2006 at 14:40 | Permalink

    Hi there, you probably don’t know me but another member of the “blogring” I know suggested I leave you a message in your comments (as I can’t find an email address for you). I asked to join the ring on 11th Feb and have been displaying the little blogring symbol since then but I see I’m still not approved. I update my blog at the end of each week unless something different to the norm. has happened, and I really enjoy reading the other blogs on your ring. Perhaps you could let me know when/if I’ll be approved. Thanks very much, Elaine

  4. Posted Tue Mar 28 2006 at 19:59 | Permalink

    I talked to Max about this the other day and his response was… “well, if any government gets in who wants to be a dictatorship, they’ll just make it so, regardless of loopholes in the law, so what’s the point of worrying about the loophole.”

    Which is erm… well… probably true, if not terribly comforting or reactionary!

  5. Jax
    Posted Tue Mar 28 2006 at 21:56 | Permalink

    Don’t really know where to start in replying to that - except to say that this government appears to be trying to sneak in all sorts of things democratically, so while I can, I’ll fight them democratically.

    “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil” and all that.

  6. Posted Tue Mar 28 2006 at 22:08 | Permalink

    Grin, i know, even *I* disagreed with him!

  7. Posted Tue Mar 28 2006 at 22:09 | Permalink

    Oh yeah, and i know Elaine :)

  8. Chris
    Posted Wed Mar 29 2006 at 8:26 | Permalink

    I could worked up about the LARRB *if* parliament was actually making a decent fist of reviewing proposed legislation under the current system. The number of simply awful laws that are nodded through under the current system suggest to me that the LARRB will make very little difference to the quality of our legislation.

  9. Jax
    Posted Wed Mar 29 2006 at 22:35 | Permalink

    At least we have half a chance (well, OK, rather less than that!) to register our disapproval atm, and we’ve got the house of lords fighting back. With LRRB we wouldn’t have either of those options.

    Obviously, given that I keep blogging about it, I think it’s worth fighting :)