Ian Birrell: Our chance to have better police

Are you excited about the prospect of voting next month for your local police chief? I suspect not; you may not even realise polls are taking place in most parts of the country. Ministers are bracing themselves for turnouts that could be in single figures, which would be a shocking verdict on one of the Government's major reforms.

Beyond landing a fresh blow against the Coalition's credibility, low turnouts will not make much difference to the arrival of police commissioners. The victors will rapidly become among the most recognisable of regional characters, questioned and judged over how they tackle local concerns and respond to crime failures. By the time of the next elections in 2016, there will be far more interest in what will have evolved into high-profile posts.

Along with crime mapping and local beat meetings, the reform will leave its mark by devolving a degree of power over crime policies to the public. The changes are disliked by pessimists who do not trust people to control their own communities and by smug local power barons who say there is no desire for transparency. Yet the crime map website, introduced only last year, has had 500m hits already.

What is beyond doubt is the urgent need to confront serial police incompetence, their roll call of shame growing longer by the day. Failing to prosecute a paedophile celebrity and smearing dead football supporters can now be added to a bloated charge sheet that includes taking bribes from journalists, shooting innocent people, abusing anti-terror laws, watching as shops are raided by rioters and using racist stop-and-search tactics.

This is not to besmirch the many brave and good officers, but they have been let down by lamentable leadership in both their forces and their unions. The police have become defensive and resistant to change – and the consequence is an outmoded public service that too often no longer serves the public.