He writes: ’Last week the new PCC for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly started her job. Alison Hernandez insisted on being sworn in last Tuesday despite being implicated in ongoing investigations into offences regarding 2015 General Election expenses.
’Her response to questions after the ceremony was that ’91,000 people have put their faith in me’ and ’that the public were aware of the investigation when they voted’. This response is arrogant, and wrong on both points.
’Firstly, the propriety of taking this office while under investigation for a criminal offence is not to be judged on the votes she received. Secondly, the public were certainly not widely aware of the investigations.
’It is the integrity and accountability of the office of the commissioner that is at stake here, not Ms Hernandez’s ambitions. The Committee on Standards in Public Life invited all PCC candidates to sign up to the principles of standards in public life.
’Lord (Paul) Bew, chairman of the committee said: ’The introduction of elected police and crime commissioners has undoubtedly shaken things up. The arrival of an ‘unshackled’ democratically accountable figurehead has brought about new ways of working and greater public engagement in many areas. But there have also been concerns about the way some individual PCCs have behaved.’
’Ms Hernandez made a public commitment to ethics in signing up to the committee’s checklist for PCCs on April 3, stating: ’I’m on a quest for better leadership and support the 7 Nolan Principles of Public Life without question’. She agreed to publish and abide by an ethical code of conduct, and to make sure the chief constable does so too. All candidates in the election on May 5 signed up to these important standards including accountability, openness and honesty.
’Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
’Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing, and what is said should be truthful.
’Ms Hernandez has been asked repeatedly by the media to explain her involvement in last year’s ’battle-bus’ expenses furore and she has not done so. She hasn’t explained, for example, why she recorded the expense of leaflets for distribution by the many visiting volunteers but did not record the cost of delivering them including the coach and hotel bills. There may be a legal reason why she has not been prepared to explain this, but if this is the case, she should say so.
’By taking the oath of office on Tuesday, Ms Hernandez was making a statement that she would be demanding ethical and professional standards from the police, but was not expecting to be held to the same standards herself. Devon and Cornwall Police Federation, representing rank and file officers, have already made clear their view that she should step back until the inquiry is over.
’If an ordinary police officer were under criminal investigation he or she would be suspended, pending its outcome. So it’s one rule for ordinary police officers, another for their boss.
’Lord Bew produced a report on the ethics of leadership in policing in July last year and Theresa May commented in November that ’high ethical standards lie at the heart of policing’. In the Home Office’s response to the Bew report they said that ’the police and crime panel has a responsibility to scrutinise how the PCC carries out all their functions, and call a PCC to appear before them to account for their actions’. ’They noted the effectiveness of this scrutiny, highlighting that in one instance when there was a loss of public confidence the Panel called on a PCC to resign, which happened soon after.
’We should not forget that Devon and Cornwall has a police and crime panel made up of elected representatives from councils across our region. Let us hope that they will immediately step up to the mark, and consider the impact of Ms Hernandez not voluntarily delaying taking up office while the investigations are ongoing, and the propriety of her remaining in post.
’The critical question for the police and crime panel is whether public confidence in the integrity and authority of the PCC role is being undermined? If it is, they should do the right thing and use the powers they have to ensure that public confidence is retained.’
An extraordinary meeting of the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel has been called for Friday, May 27.