Police and Crime Commissioners are not wanted or needed – the election turnout showed that. Shaun Wright, Commissioner for South Yorkshire, now wants to appoint a deputy on a salary of £45,000 a year – Tracey Cheetham. She will continue as a Barnsley Labour councillor with an allowance of £10,426.
I’m sure readers will be thinking what I’m thinking. Why do we need the role of Deputy Commissioner?
Where is the value to the taxpayer in paying £45,000 to a part time deputy?
How many hours a week will Tracey Cheetham find for this job?
How can the coalition have spent millions on elections and to pay commissioners when Joe public faces cuts across the board to public services?
This smacks of Labour Party patronage rather than the effective use of public funds for policing.
Andrew Cooper, Green Party Prospective Lead Candidate for 2014 European Elections