IT is six months ago (November 15th- 2012) that a mere 15 per cent of the public elected the first Police Commissioners.

The reasons given for this new Office was to create greater transparency and accountability without interfering with the day to day responsibility of Chief Constables for policing in their police authority areas ; at least that is how I understood the proposals for this new structure of policing.

The reality from where I am is that far from policing being more transparent, it has become more remote; take for example the report (Echo May 15th ) that Police cars and stations across Dorset could soon be emblazoned with the logos of private sponsors , and the revelation of Dorset’s Police and Crime Commissioner that he has already discussed the issue with a potential sponsor.

I think a move in the direction of private sponsorship of some of the police expenditure is a bad move ; a view I feel pretty sure is shared by a great many members of the public in Dorset and certainly does not have the support of the Dorset Police Federation; but over and above that is the whole question of accountability.

Perhaps I am wrong, but given the premise on which the decision was made to have elected Police Commissioners, perhaps Martyn Underhill, Dorset’ s Police Commissioner, will tell me and your readers what degree of accountability exists to allow the wider community to voice their concerns and for those concerns to be acted on, and in particular how he responds to the fear of Clive Chamberlain , Chairman of the Dorset Police Federation, (Echo May 15th) that ‘the independence of police forces could be lost if they are forced to rely on private companies for cash.‘

GORDON CANN,

Craigmoor Avenue,

Bournemouth