[punky]

Instead of all this talk about new commissioners and such, how about keeping the same command structure, but making the chief superintendents publically accountable? As of now, the only people that can sack them are their bosses, and that doesn't really reflect the will of the people. The Tories shouldn't really be pushing for extra bureaucracy, as small governments are the cornerstone of all conservative agendas. That is for Labour to do. Politics should be kept out of the job, because the post would have no real link to the government.

I don't think that making a senior figure publically accountable will automatically make them focus on single "buzzword" issues. So long as the police have a reasonable turnover rate on solving crimes then the public will always favour the candidate. That is what people want at the end of the day, for the police to solve crimes. If one candidate doubled the conviction rate for burglars (or any serious crime), but quadrupled (or more) speed cameras, then I for one would be happy with that. And if they are outside schools, so much the better.