Time to Sort Out Our Busted Police Forces

We need to introduce a new system of community-led police accountability boards to oversee the running of local forces. I think this is needed because, let's be honest, the police have been getting away with some pretty questionable behaviour for far too long — my kid's mate was stopped and searched last year for no reason, it's just not on.

The way it would work is that each local force would have a board made up of ordinary people from the community, not just the usual suspects like councillors and business leaders. They'd have the power to investigate complaints and make sure the police are actually listening to the people they're supposed to be serving. It's not rocket science, just some basic accountability, you know.

I've seen it work in other areas, like with school governing bodies, where parents and teachers can hold the headteacher to account.