Tories outlining policing plans

Some proposals that seem to be just about sensible policies from the Tories according to the BBC, the police Chief Constables remain in charge of day to day, but the current police authorities would be replaced by partially elected bodies instead making them more accountable to the populations that they police. The risk about it being this could lead to the single issue groups getting disproportionate influance.

Lets look at this in relation to Peel's Nine Priniples of Policing:
1:The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.
People care more that their streets feel safe than whether criminals if they are caught go to jail, which is the current metric of sucsess. So by bringing more emphersis on what people want, in order to get votes, this might be improved.

2:The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.
This would be seriously improved, as should the public not approve police actions the elected offical will lose his job and will therefore make sure that what the police do does meet public approval.

3:Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.
Same as point 2, an improvement.

4:The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.
No change, this is a day to day matter of procedure that will be delt with by the Chief Constable.

5:Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.
This could be effected badly by the proposal as the elected offical will be constantly trying to "seek and preserve public favour" in order to get votes.

6:Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.
No change, this is a day to day matter of procedure that will be delt with by the Chief Constable.

7:Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
Maybe a small imporvement as they will be directed to focus more on what the public is in favour of therefore seeming more like the attitudes of the public.

8:Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.
No change.

9:The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.
There might be an improvement here as the metric of sucsess will no longer be statistics of "the visible evidence of police action" as in the current system but by people feeling safe and happy with the way that policing is carried out.

Howard also wants to cut down on the red tape that police officers have to fight through to get anything done. Now all governments say they want to cut red tape, but none do. The best that can normally be hoped for is a slowdown in the accumerlation of the stuff.

As these proposals transfer power away from political elites and towards ordinary people it is very unlikely that Labour will steal these policies, despite their track record of stealing most of the Tories policies in this area. They are currently saying that the Tories policy would not work because they have stopped supporting ID Cards.