Ann's law

FEW of us can name our local police commissioner from the 41 elected two years ago in what was the biggest shake-up to policing for 50 years, and cost in excess of £75million. Polling stations reported the lowest voter turn-out since the Second World War in support of the idea and then one newly-appointed PCC began to hit the headlines for largely the wrong reasons.

Ann Barnes, standing for the role in Kent, had threatened legal action after an opponent cast doubt on the origin of her funding.

She is perhaps best-known for a Twitter-based media storm (she appointed 17-year-old Paris Brown as the UK's first Youth Police and Crime Commissioner, only for Brown to end up resigning after Tweets emerged which appeared racist, violent and homophobic in nature). There was also her official, presidential-style campervan, and her distinctive anti-political manner of connecting with people.

This Cutting Edge documentary aims to find out what happened when Barnes tried to reach out to the people of Kent with her regular Ann Force One bus tours of the county. Her aim is to get the police force to become more visible on the streets and more transparent in its dealings, in order to win back the trust of the people.

Barnes explains: "It does not matter where I go - Tunbridge Wells or Folkestone - they all want the same thing: visible community policing. They want their police officers in their streets in their communities working with local people."

As an independent, Ann believes she is unfettered by party politics - however it also means she can be seen by some as an outsider with a lack of experience and party support. Whether this will end up working for or against her remains to be seen, but through the access granted to this documentary we should get an insight.

How the Wild West Was Won with Ray Mears (BBC4, 9pm)

I always enjoy watching Ray Mears grace our screens, but if he looks a little smug in this latest series, it's because he's got reason to be.

This year sees the bushcraft expert celebrating 20 years in the business (it all started back in 1994 on the BBC's Tracks), and although in that time, there have been plenty more survival specialists cashing in on their niche skills, Mears is still the one they all look up to.

As his latest series continues, the adventurer explores how the Great Plains (500,000-square miles of flat, treeless grassland) became the backdrop for some of the Wild West's most dramatic events.

He meets the Blackfest Indian tribe, as they demonstrate bare-back riding skills, before taking part in a ritual buffalo hunt and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, in Dodge City, Kansas, a cattle auction gets under way, and Ray reveals all about the railways and cow-towns, before experiencing the life of a cowboy.

Burning Desire: The Seduction of Smoking (BBC2, 9.30pm)

EVEN after decades of ever-increasing government regulation, the burning desire for tobacco is actually as strong as ever. Despite a growing number of people trying to quit with latest trending aids, cigarettes are still big business.

Given that, Peter Tayler is a man on a mission. In this new series, the journalist and documentary-maker (travels to Australia to look at the industry's last-ditch attempt to prevent plain packaging. He is allowed rare access to the world's second biggest tobacco company, and explores the reason behind the fact that on a daily basis, thousands of young people around the world are still being seduced by the allure of smoking.