Winston's Mega Mandate

I have received a number of press releases from organizations who are concerned about the democratic deficit caused by so few voting in the Thursday's Police Commissioner Elections. I could use them to fill the void in my recent blogging activity, but I won't because personally I am very, very pleased that so few voted.

Unlike other regional elections, such as the Regional Assembly Lists and the All Wales European Election List – the Commissioner vote has been a vote for an individual rather than for a list member.

As an individual, despite a miserly 15% turnout, Winston Roddick's 35K vote is three times the personal vote won by any constituency AM in North Wales and twice the personal vote of any MP elected in North Wales.

Despite the limitations of his job, despite the lack of confidence in the vote, despite the pathetic turnout numbers Winston Roddick is currently, by far, the individual elected with the largest personal mandate in the whole of North Wales - and that's the danger of these elections! Imagine the moral authority the person elected to the post would have if 70 or 80% of us had cast a vote!

I hope that the low turnout will result in the abolition of these elections – because the danger of just one individual Police Boss having more electoral clout than any MP or AM in North Wales frightens me.

It is that sort of power that leads to the creation of a Police State.

Policing & Politics

Professor Dylan Jones Evans makes a point on his blog that many have made before about the controversial subjects on which Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom has commented over the years. The point that whatever the validity of his views the Chief Constable's job is to catch criminals, not to comment on political matters. Or as the Prof puts it legislation is the job of the lawmakers in Parliament and not that of a civil servant such as himself.

I find this attitude difficult to understand, and if it is extended to other publicly funded occupations it starts to sound ridiculous at best and dangerous at worst.

If there are problems in health care provisions I want to hear from doctors and nurses on the matter, so that I can inform my view on the subject. Would the Prof say their job is to administer to the sick, not to comment on health policy; health policy is the job of policy makers in parliament?

Likewise would the Prof say that it is a teacher's job to teach and that teachers are wrong if they raise educational issues of political concern? Would he say that teachers shouldn't inform debate on an area of their expertise because they are not elected to Parliament?

When there are problems facing the Welsh economy do we expect to hear the opinions of leading experts in the field, such as Professor Dylan Jones Evans? Or do we tell him to shut up and go back to the job he's paid to do, lecturing students, and to leave the job of solving Welsh economic problems to the elected members in Cardiff Bay?

If there are serious issues facing policing and the application of law and order I want to hear what the experts in the subject who work in the field on a daily basis have to say about them, because that is the only way that the ordinary members of the public can be informed enough to make a judgment about how good a job the lawmakers in Parliament are doing in drafting the legislation that the police have to implement.

Gibney and Brunstrom

The death of Mark Gibney in 2003 was horrific. Mr Gibney was decapitated because he was driving so fast that when he attempted to brake on seeing an oncoming vehicle his motorbike stopped, but his head didn't.

Mr Gibney was driving at very high speeds on the B5105. As anybody who has driven in Wales knows our A roads are not suited to high speeds, never mind the B roads. Yet Mr Gibney decided, of his own volition, to drive at a very high speed, reckless of his own fate or the fate of other road users on a twisting, rural Welsh B road. He died as a result of his own reckless stupidity.

Mr Gibney's driving was described by the Coroner in his inquest as reprehensible. Mr Gibney had no licence, no insurance, no training and his motorcycle had a false number plate. When he died Mr Gibney was wearing a tee-shirt that showed his total contempt for the law and the safety of other road users that the law attempts to protect. His tee-shirt displayed the (untrue) slogan :

HELLO OFFICER
YES MY CAN IS E MARKED
YES MY NUMBER PLATE IS LEGAL (No! It wasn’t)
YES MY TYRES HAVE TREAD
NOW PISS OFF
AND CATCH SOME
REAL CRIMINALS.

Mr Gibney, clearly didn't think that driving on a B road at high speed without any concern for other road users, or for his own safety, was a serious criminal act.

Mr Gibney's family have the audacity to complain about Chief Constable Brunstrom using Mr Gibney as an example of the horrific consequences of dangerous driving. If they can't see that Gibney is the perfect example of stupid attitudes to macho biking they must be in denial of reality!

If, God forbid, a member of my family was caught up in such horrific circumstances, I would want that family member to be used as an example to others, as a warning against such stupidity. The fact that Mr Gibney's family are calling for the Chief Constable of north Wales to be sacked for drawing attention to the horrific consequences of abusing the road in the way that Mr Gibney abused it, and that certain MPs are supporting the family's view is beyond my comprehension

Brunstrom Tasered

If you are one of those who would like to see the Chief Constable of North Wales shot you may enjoy this video