Following the Home Secretary’s announcement that the post of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), due to be elected on 15th November 2012, could receive as much as £100,000 per year, Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats have questioned whether the job is really worth more than four times the salary of the current Chair of the Police Authority and twice the salary of the Leader of the County Council.

Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats’ Policing Spokeperson, County Councillor Ron Tindall, said: ‘At present, the Police Authority Chair receives £22,500. While PCC will be replacing all seventeen members of the current Police Authority, we do not expect that he or she will also be taking over the role of Chief Executive, or even be asked to second-guess the Chief Constable.

‘At a time of job losses and pay cuts, I do not believe that the PCC should be receiving more than the Leader of the County Council, a position of similar stature and responsibility in Hertfordshire, who earns £47,940. I shall be asking the county’s Liberal Democrats to endorse this position at their next meeting on 3rd December, and expect they will fully agree with me.”