Empty chairs and empty tables.
Incredible News! For the Citizens of Guildford/Waverley and the county of Surrey!
All serious crime has been solved?
Hasn’t it?
Because as you will see from the Court List for Friday 6th March there was not one single criminal case for the Guildford Courts to deal with! – Or has crime been postponed or cancelled until further notice? Or, perhaps, justice is on the point of being extinguished?
Fear not wannabe Police and Crime Commissioner (PPC) David Munroe, who has been spotted schlepping around Surrey eager to hang onto his plumply-salaried Surrey PCC job and knock the lady hopeful off his Surrey beat! There may not be any need for the county council to fill anyone’s pockets with taxpayers’ cash for a new PPC at th elections in May. Because here’s the Crown Court List. Similar to many others around the country with ‘THE CLOSED SIGN UP’ in a bid to save money?
The Chief Inspector of Constabulary painted a devastating assessment of the criminal justice system recently, when he accused politicians of not caring about the state of the country’s courts – because its not a vote winner like the NHS and schools.
Sir Tom Winsor said: ‘We have the appalling ineficiencies and failures in prosecutions with inexcusable delays in bringing cases to court, disgraceful late changes in charges the prosecutor given inadequately prepared papers at the last minute, which causes disruption and delays to trials and injustice to the accused, to the complainants and to witnesses. Then there is the physical decay of our courts with their fabricdeteriorating before our eyes.’
Martin Hewitt – chairman of the National Police Chief’s Council NPCC also said recently,
Funding cuts to the courts, Crime Prosecution Service and legal aid – now means that justice is now the preserve of only large corporations, the very wealthy or, the very, very, poor.’
Potential Candidates can still register to stand for this £71,400 per annum post until 8 April. But there doesn’t seem to be lot of interest with only one other candidate registered so far. That’s the Conservative’s Charlie Cirico, who is a young Conservative party activist.(a useful step on the ladder for Charlie to join Jeremy and Angela at Westminster?)
She’s certainly better than David Munro at taking selfies, so that might swing it for her?
Labour and LibDems haven’t registered candidates yet, so I doubt if they will as it doesn’t leave much time for campaigning. So it looks like it’s an open door for Mr Munro to continue to enjoy his plump salary.
But it does beg the question: do we really need PCCs in the first place? It seems like just another “compliance” role created the PC brigade.
Perhaps a few others will pop up soon to give Mr Munro a money for his money – or perhaps OUR money. What a ridiculous salary.
Those that know me will know I have little love for the existence of the role of PCC. It is the only election I have ever deliberately spoilt my ballot as I do fundamentally disagree with its existence.
Has the Conservative candidate actually moved to Surrey yet so she can actually stand?
I gather Labour are standing Howard Kaye and my party, the Liberal Democrats have had our selection ballot.
The size of the actual office, it’s staff and frankly – just politicising the police is just something I do not hold with. As you may have noticed I do not pose for election photos with the police (as I think it is wrong to do so). Even for work I am actually doing with them.
But in my borough role, whoever the PCC is I will have to work with them – and so I hope one of the non-Tory candidates will seriously campaign for the reduction of the role to statutory minimums.
We understand that the Tory candidate lives in Wimbledon.
The law makes no decisions. It has no will of its own. It is like a weapon, or a tool. It works for those who pick it up and use it – “The Rich.”