Politics and Police do not mix

So, I've just received my polling card for the Hertfordshire Police & Crime Commissioner election. As this was the first I've heard about it, I quickly read up about this reform (after all the national media has not once made us aware that there was going to be an opportunity to elect a local police commissioner). What I found disturbed me.

Each candidate for the Hertfordshire police commissioner are affiliated to a political party. Worse still, every single candidates are seasoned armchair politicians with no actual experiences in policing! You know, the type of stuff police are supposed to do like catching robbers, investigating bankers, protecting the people, filling tedious paperwork etc.

FFS, even the rosettes are affiliated to the three main UK parties!

Policing should be impartial. The last thing we should want as a democratic country is having the police in the pockets of political party with an agenda. And because of the amount of resources needed to campaign, many independents or actual police who actually know their shit, can't even afford to stump up the deposit (which is more than the deposit required to stand for Member of Parliament!) needed to run. Of course politics and police do mix, they already do at dangerous levels. Quite why any sensible person would want policing to be more political is beyond me.

It's an invitation to an American-style political lobby system (ie. wide spread corruptions) and the only reason this reform exists is likely to create a new class of self serving politicians who will be earning £100k a year, which by the way, more than your MP earns a year.

I would hate to waste my vote and yet I do not want to vote for a police commissioner who is affiliated in any way or form with any political party. But as Hertfordshire will not have any independent candidates I will likely not vote come election day. Political parties and agendas should not influence the police organisation, and I say that as a person who is always suspicious of them, the cynic I am.