tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post8920552052220589134..comments2023-12-09T07:21:51.160+00:00Comments on The Druid: Fighting for Anglesey: North Wales Police Authority demonstrates why it needs to be abolishedPaul Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021606156107333019noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-60082991590315453442010-09-24T10:04:23.529+01:002010-09-24T10:04:23.529+01:00I must admit to admiring the way the new Ch Consta...I must admit to admiring the way the new Ch Constable has quietly gone about his business since his appointment, what a breath of fresh air after the Brunstrom tenure! How sensible to get rid of those baseball caps - with the exception of firearms officers there was never any need to introduce them. Brunstrom had our bobbies looking more like chavs than the chavs themselves. I could never understand why different constabularies have different uniforms, surely it would be more economical for them all to wear the same uniform, same applies to their vehicles. Why do they not all source their vehicles from the same outlet?Groundhog Daynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-33964503473087753942010-09-23T19:47:32.345+01:002010-09-23T19:47:32.345+01:00Baseball caps for sale, any offers?
Telephone cop...Baseball caps for sale, any offers?<br /><br />Telephone cop shop Colwyn bay ext 69Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-63243672074898649102010-09-23T19:45:49.754+01:002010-09-23T19:45:49.754+01:00The POLICE are too frightened to POLICE the street...The POLICE are too frightened to POLICE the streets, they have lost the faith of the tax payer, and have allowed the criminals to have the ir own way, the victim is penalised for reporting crimes, the whole system has eveporated if we don't make the POLICE mor avvountable to the public, then we may as well not bother reporting crimes, but take the law in your own hands, it;s your own right to use anymeans possible to defend yourself against the lawbreakers, because the lawmakers and law keepers have abandoned us all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-57394166086584920482010-09-23T09:42:28.549+01:002010-09-23T09:42:28.549+01:00"Don't forget there will still be a role ..."Don't forget there will still be a role for Councillors, as explained on the South Wales Police web site:"<br /><br />Yes, it all looks entirely democratic. But the question I still have is this: just how accountable, in real terms, are elected councillors? I say 'not very'. Anglesey's example demonstrates this better than most places, other perhaps than Doncaster. <br /><br />The reality in local government is that you elect people in, then they never ask for your views on anything. The only time you see the Councillor is when they want your vote again. That's not a cynical view, it's a realistic one. The net result is no meaningful accountability. Because Anglesey keeps returning the same old tired people back to power, they end up on things like the NWPA for years and years and years, never developing, never bringing in new ideas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-26735455386442806832010-09-22T14:24:31.894+01:002010-09-22T14:24:31.894+01:00Jariath:
Thanks for the heads up on the Daily Pos...Jariath:<br /><br />Thanks for the heads up on the Daily Post's Manifesto.<br /><br />Not a bad shot, even if I don't agree with all their points.<br /><br />Does anyone know whether the political groupings on Anglesey have produced their manifesto's yet.<br /><br />I believe there was a deadline due sometime earlier this summer. <br />Serious questions should be being asked of these parties if they cannot come up a simple statement of what they stand for.<br /><br />Serious questions also for those who tasked them with providing said statements. <br /><br />Like: What are you going to do when people ignore your directions - If you're not going to do anything, then why ask in the first place?<br /><br />I guess my own cynicism rises as my concerns about the intergrity of the WAG sinks lower.<br /><br />See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-11387314<br /><br />I have to agree with Kirsty Williams that they are more comcerned with "covering up critiscism of their administration/department".Prometheuswritesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-87303589007694283382010-09-22T11:11:23.275+01:002010-09-22T11:11:23.275+01:00Talking of the Daily Post yesterday's issue ha...Talking of the Daily Post yesterday's issue had the 'Daily Post's Manifesto' - now I wonder where they got that idea from?jarlathnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-34479406622145581882010-09-21T22:16:31.579+01:002010-09-21T22:16:31.579+01:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-5848702038709040412010-09-21T21:58:04.314+01:002010-09-21T21:58:04.314+01:00I live in Penyffordd nr Mold we have 1800 speeders...I live in Penyffordd nr Mold we have 1800 speeders a day through the village. Flintshire County Council hold the data. NWP ignore the speeding and NWPA also do not want to know. NWPA can go tomorrow wholly unaccountable, too close to the police and not close enough to communities.Colinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12426100640135762811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-51675127705100490942010-09-21T19:55:56.408+01:002010-09-21T19:55:56.408+01:00Don't forget there will still be a role for Co...Don't forget there will still be a role for Councillors, as explained on the South Wales Police web site:<br /><br />"There is also therefore, a proposal to create a Police and Crime Panel (PCP). Panels will be drawn from locally elected Councillors from constituent wards and independent lay members. "<br /><br />see<br />http://www.southwalespoliceauthority.org.uk/en/content/cms/Consultation/Current_Surveys/Police_Reform/Police_Reform.aspxJarlathnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-22189655806254954402010-09-21T18:49:54.934+01:002010-09-21T18:49:54.934+01:00Cllr Peter Rogers is a member of the NWPA. He'...Cllr Peter Rogers is a member of the NWPA. He's been complained of to the Public Service's Ombudsman for Wales by the NWPA. Doesn't inspire any confidence in me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-55334593201847853582010-09-21T18:43:36.975+01:002010-09-21T18:43:36.975+01:00"Yet it's still democratic, on paper at l..."Yet it's still democratic, on paper at least."<br /><br />Glad to hear that it is democratic though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-75858255220415601902010-09-21T18:04:11.209+01:002010-09-21T18:04:11.209+01:00It is a question of whether any of those councillo...It is a question of whether any of those councillors - or JPs for that matter - have any ability or understanding to run the NWPA. Be realistic - it's the establishment in action: you're a councillor? How about a stint as a police authority member? Nobody elects councillors to be omnipotent, and they clearly are not!<br /><br />I'd also argue the 'democracy' bit: isn't it just a 4-year elected autocracy? Anglesey's example seems to say 'yes', as I doubt any of us want them involved in the kind of antics they've been up to for decades. Yet it's still democratic, on paper at least.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-37342432395093430402010-09-21T16:44:29.940+01:002010-09-21T16:44:29.940+01:00"So, it's a question of whether we want a..."So, it's a question of whether we want an entirely unelected body in the form of the police authority to tell us what's best for us"<br /><br />"uncomfortable truth for the NWPA is that, as an unelected body, it has far, far less right to say things than a democratic political party"<br /><br />In what way are they unelected?<br /><br />The Councillor Members are selected by their (relevant council) peers all of whom have been democratically elected and the JP Members by the government which in turn has been democratically elected.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-49436932011504880082010-09-21T16:32:01.394+01:002010-09-21T16:32:01.394+01:00Minister Carl Sergeant.
Everytime I see that I bu...Minister Carl Sergeant.<br /><br />Everytime I see that I burst out laughing.<br /><br />Ye Gods, what next. I was gobsmacked when he was elevated to village idiot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-27318114358648828162010-09-21T13:48:34.749+01:002010-09-21T13:48:34.749+01:00I agree - a letter to the Daily Post is certainly ...I agree - a letter to the Daily Post is certainly in order...Paul Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01021606156107333019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-28098213575565766092010-09-21T13:47:19.553+01:002010-09-21T13:47:19.553+01:00Me thinks the Daily Post shouldn't be allowed ...Me thinks the Daily Post shouldn't be allowed to escape serious criticism. We know the police own some journos but this just takes the biscuit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-45476185106389076972010-09-21T13:15:34.543+01:002010-09-21T13:15:34.543+01:00The BNP hold absolutely no chance of taking contro...The BNP hold absolutely no chance of taking control of the post of PCC. Their voter-base in North Wales is beneath pitiful. It's somewhere around 2% at most and is concentrated mainly in the Wrecsam/Deeside area. Outside of there it is virtually nil.<br /><br />When that BNP membership list was put on the internet for example, Anglesey had about 13 members as I recall.<br /><br />This threat of 'extremists' is quite frankly as laughable as it is pathetic.An Eye On...https://www.blogger.com/profile/08811559231632281053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-79403652944271396842010-09-21T10:12:29.038+01:002010-09-21T10:12:29.038+01:00There's another problem with the NWPA position...There's another problem with the NWPA position. They say they are concerned that some 'extremists' will take over the elected PCC position. Quite apart from the points eloquently put by the Druid on running party support, this runs into the age-old problem of being undemocratic.<br /><br />Like it or not, the BNP is a recognised, lawful political party. Those elements of it which were not lawful have been challenged and ordered to change on pain of legal action against them.<br /><br />So, it's a question of whether we want an entirely unelected body in the form of the police authority to tell us what's best for us, or else a lawful political party, however repugnant its underlying philosophy, to represent the views of those who have equally lawfully voted for it. <br /><br />As Voltaire said: "I hate what you say, but I will fight to the death your right to say it". I would suggest that the uncomfortable truth for the NWPA is that, as an unelected body, it has far, far less right to say things than a democratic political party.<br /><br />True: at the moment, a police authority is probably a safer pair of hands than the BNP. But there's nothing to say that an extremist could end-up on the NWPA by being appointed today. Maybe to a young, coloured, ethnic background gay man or woman, a white, middle-class retired heterosexual JP on the board could be seen as some form of extremist?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-37345440092980741132010-09-21T09:40:54.876+01:002010-09-21T09:40:54.876+01:00The South Wales Police service (but not our North ...The South Wales Police service (but not our North Wales equivalent) has responded this morning to assure me the letter has been sent to their Chief Constable's office. As I suspected, the Police Authority doesn't seem to be quite as separate from the police staff as they like to portray.<br /><br />Anyhow, I can assure them, in turn, that the letter was sent to Minister Carl Sargeant's office yesterday afternoon. <br /><br />I should offer a concession, though: it's not false, as I badly wrote, that 41% of people are against elected PCCs. What I meant to emphasise was that is it false to stress 41% are opposed, and not to highlight that 45% are in favour. Not that any of the numbers mean anything, because they've not been collected to represent the population as a whole.The Great Councillininoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-36873141266035909162010-09-20T22:02:10.921+01:002010-09-20T22:02:10.921+01:00It's not though is it. The elected PCC is not...It's not though is it. The elected PCC is not to be part of the establishment. They are to be the people's direct input over the NWPA<br /><br />That's the whole point. If they don't and become part of it instead then 4 years down the line they get rightly turfed out on their arse and replaced.<br />It seems the NWPA don't particulalry relish doing what the people want and being publicly scrutinised hence their 'resistance'.<br /><br />Until tomorrow.An Eye On...https://www.blogger.com/profile/08811559231632281053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-77249780736041815472010-09-20T21:00:48.279+01:002010-09-20T21:00:48.279+01:00Got me in the true squaddie tradition, Red Flag.
...Got me in the true squaddie tradition, Red Flag.<br /><br />Rearrange <br />brains* bullshit baffles.<br /><br />:-)<br /><br />Nos da.I'll retire early to gather strenght for tomorrows joust!<br /><br /><br />* not that my whitterings show much evidence of these.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-52984122276934379172010-09-20T20:25:34.629+01:002010-09-20T20:25:34.629+01:00Is this something that happens to Councillors in t...<i>Is this something that happens to Councillors in this country?</i><br /><br />Bowles seems to think so down in the Llangefni Kremlin.<br /><br />That aside, the elected representative will not nb ethre to be one of them. He/She will be there - with the mandate of the voter - to make sure that the NWPA are in turn making sure the Police are policing North Wales the way the people want it policing. They will have to work with him/her wether they like it or not. In fact wethewr they agree or not is of no importance as they don't have the mandate - he/she will.<br />And that is the way it should be.An Eye On...https://www.blogger.com/profile/08811559231632281053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-413065671597889942010-09-20T17:37:41.755+01:002010-09-20T17:37:41.755+01:00You are entitled to you view Red Flag.Do try and r...You are entitled to you view Red Flag.Do try and remember, if only for your blood pressure, that that is all it is. We all have 'they should..insertfavouritegripehere..moments.Reality is another thing<br /><br />I'm intrigued with this kneeling before... pledge..or else quit etc<br /><br />Is this something that happens to Councillors in this country? Who do they kneel in front of. I'd like to know where and when so that I can have a look at the ceremony on Daily Politics. They're bound to cover such a solemn occasion as such a pledge and kowtowing to an almighty figure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-28516021123501932272010-09-20T16:56:02.389+01:002010-09-20T16:56:02.389+01:00It is not their place to publicly attempt to under...It is not their place to publicly attempt to undermine the elected government's policy, misrepresenting dubious data and spending ratepayers money doing so.<br /><br />Still, they've nailed their colours to the mast so it will come as no surprise to them when the elected representative goves them the choice of kneeling before him/her and publicly pledging loyaltry and support or quitting. Live by the sword etc etc.<br /><br />More of these types of bodies should be fronted by directly elected represenatives - health boards, education boards etc and even a directly elected MayorAn Eye On...https://www.blogger.com/profile/08811559231632281053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130000348899973408.post-60890428467394191662010-09-20T16:27:16.083+01:002010-09-20T16:27:16.083+01:00Wow, a body half made up of policians is accused o...Wow, a body half made up of policians is accused of being political. Cosmic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com