I have never come across Ruth Henig before. Dr Henig, should you too have been as ignorant as I of her existence, is ‘chair’ of the Association of Police Authorities. Given their purpose – essentially providing a form of democratic input into the running of police forces – you might perhaps have expected to have heard of her, since she is effectively our numero uno chief representative to the police.

Then again, perhaps not. If Dr Henig’s reaction to David Blunkett’s proposals yesterday to give the public a greater say in local policing (via the direct election of police authority members) is anything to go by, the last thing she wants is to have to dirty her hands dealing with the likes of us, the public: “The issue for me is 'would directly electing police authority members be the key to enhancing local accountability?' I don't think it would. The sort of areas we are involved in, such as financial management, performance management, the use of resources; these are not really very sexy issues for election campaigns.”

Indeed not. Should we want to exercise some influence over the way in which our streets our policed, we should leave it to Dr Henig and her friends. We wouldn’t want to cramp their style with the sort of vulgar ideas which – hold your nose as you read the next three words – the general public might favour. Dr Henig appears to believe that North Korea is too democratic. Kim Jong-Il, after all, does at least go through a charade of an election.

Existing police authorities are as Dr Henig likes it: appointed, rather than elected. And guess what. According to Home Office research, few of us have a clue who they are or what they are for. So Mr Blunkett’s proposals are certainly a step forward.

But they are far too limited. As with council elections, which rarely manage to get more than thirty per cent of us to turn up at the polling booth, a derisory turn out is almost guaranteed.

And there is a more fundamental problem: those who will be attracted to stand. Let me make a prediction: the only change that will happen is that the current third rate time-servers will, instead of being appointed, be able to claim a democratic mandate, based on a turn out in the low twenties. And a fat lot of use that is to anyone.

If the Home Secretary was looking for genuine accountability, which would force the police to respond to the demands of the public, he would make a fundamental change to the criminal justice system. He would look to the United States, and their system of District Attorneys, and – working with the Lord Chancellor’s Department - reform the Crown Prosecution Service into a series of local branches, each of which would be responsible for prosecutions in their own area. And, critically, the head of each local CPS would be directly elected.

Not only would that, at a stoke, inject a hitherto alien concept – the public will – into the very heart of the system, it would also energise local democracy.

And that, of course, is precisely why such a change would be resisted tooth and nail by the police, local authorities and the CPS. None of them want their existing apple cart upset, least of all by those uncouth beasts who comprise the electorate. Adding a few elected members to police authorities is bad enough; an elected, local District Attorney would be unpalatable. Just look at their reaction to Ray Mallon, when he stood for the mayoralty of Middlesbrough. Mallon ran as a de facto local DA, and was derided by all the local powers that be. He won with sixty three per cent of the vote.

It’s become almost a cliché to point out how today’s police priorities barely begin to match those of the public. But for all the times it’s repeated, it has almost no impact on chief constables’ behaviour. What’s needed is the direct voice of the people: an elected DA who has the power to do more than merely urge, and can set about changing police priorities from motorists who drive at 32 mph in a 30 mph zone to the criminals the public wants dealt with. By prosecuting – relentlessly - teenage thugs, beggars and other low life who destroy the social fabric, and not just letting them off with slapped wrists, local DAs can change the culture. Unless, of course, the public decides to elect DAs who promise to make speeding motorists their priority. It will be our choice.

That prompts a thought: how about electing local Chief Constables? Now that really would be something.