AMONGST all the controversy around Cleveland’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Barry Coppinger, many argue that the PCC should not be a political appointment because the police are supposed to be independent of politics.

I would, however, go a step further and abolish the role of PCC altogether, which was nothing more than a David Cameron gimmick. The Chief Constable should be free from every vestige of political interference; a system, without PCCs, that worked well for decades in the past.

Why don’t we learn from the USA where political control of the police has inevitably led to malpractice, bias, injustice and outright corruption?

Steve Kay, Redcar and Cleveland councillor