- Press Release - 3rd Level Policing - CSAS scheme
- Press Release - 3rd Level Policing - CSAS scheme
There has been much discussion this week with regard to planned introduction of The Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) by the Home Office, which allows Chief Constables to accredit persons and grant them the powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices or on the spot fines encapsulated under the The Police Reform Act 2002.
The Libertarian Party finds this news objectionable in the extreme, not only because we believe this further degenerates the Bill of Rights 1689 which guarantees citizens that all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures before conviction are illegal and void, but see it as extending and enhancing the role of Big Brother government into the Policing of the UK.
As a result of this and other inroads into the rights of the citizens of the UK, The Libertarian Party have adopted and publish the following policy.
The Libertarian Party believes in Rule of Law, which includes due process.
The recent proliferation of Fixed Penalty Notices, the use of Cautions and other unconstitutional mechanisms has resulted in individuals gaining a criminal record or coerced into paying a fine under threat of same, often without recourse to a hearing in open court. Such records can seriously damage the reputation, livelihoods and well-being of law-abiding individuals.
The Libertarian Party considers all such “crimes” to have been attributed illegally, and therefore shall have them expunged from the public records of those affected.
Libertarian Party spokesman Ian Parker-Joseph said “The statement issued by the ACPO on the matter of The Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) is clearly inadequate in allaying the fears of the general public.
He said: “I would prefer to see the ACPO acting positively to uphold the law using the existing Bill of Rights with sworn Police Officers, rather than setting up the kernel of a private intelligence and enforcement organisation, with accreditation being managed on behalf of Forces and Chief Officers across England and Wales by ACPO CPI Ltd, a company owned by the Association of Chief Police Offices for England and Wales, itself a private company which operates outside of the FOI Act scrutiny.”
This further reinforces our view that there should be locally elected rather than appointed Chief Police Officers.
Notes for editors
1. The Daily Express on The Community Safety Accreditation Scheme.
2. The ACPO Press statement on The Community Safety Accreditation Scheme.
3. csas-updated-apr-07-4 on The Community Safety Accreditation Scheme.
4. The Libertarian Party was founded on 21 November 2007 and officially launched on 1 January 2008.
5. Further details of the party’s Law and Order policies can be found here.
6. Libertarianism is a political philosophy based on support for individual liberty.
7. Libertarianism is a broad church, but the UK Libertarian Party is broadly minarchist in outlook.
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