Member

What concerns me about this proposal is that it appears that the police are moving under the auspices of the local authority. I know that there are some great people here from local authorities—I do not judge them at all—but sometimes that independence is vital. This is not because the control of a local authority is inherently bad, but sometimes the police have to investigate local authorities. They have to be separate, and they have to be clear, as they might actually have to investigate a local authority about the care of a child. Therefore, to bring them into the team is dangerous and could confuse that accountability. They can make arrests, they can do searches, and they can search for evidence, but I do not think it is wise to bring them under the control of this team, and I would be really worried if that should happen.