The New English Dictionary has many definitions for ‘commission’ but number 5 on page 271 states . ‘ an act of committing something: the commission of a crime.’ So have I stumbled on the Yorkshire comma. Are we to have a body of commissioners seeking out police committing crime called Commission Police, Commissioners. This may be laudable or even necessary for the Met in London where strangely there is no Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). Commission Police with or without a comma are not wanted in God’s Own County.
The role of a PCC is to be the voice of the people and hold the police to account. They are responsible for the totality of policing. We elect them, currently in Yorkshire, one Labour, one Conservative and West Yorkshire’s Mayor . The aim of PCCs is to ‘cut crime and deliver an effective and efficient police service within their police force area’. They are elected by the public to hold Chief Constables and the force to account, making the police answerable to the communities they serve’. West Yorkshire – police governance falls under the remit of the Elected Mayor a pseudo PCC.
Annual salaries for a PCC is South Yorkshire £ 88,600 and North Yorkshire £76,300 and additionally all PCCs must employ a Chief Executive (CEO) and a Chief Finance Officer. PCCs also receive cash from the Government to commission other organisations and groups to improving community safety.
In this post, doubtless, I will have committed many errors, which, will attract attention from the comma police so I intend referring myself to the Police, Comma, Commissioners but don’t ‘quote’ me on that.