Sponsored by
Police will patrol the polling stations
AN unprecedented police operation is to take place on local election day in a bid to combat fraud at the polls.
AN unprecedented police operation is to take place on local election day in a bid to combat fraud at the polls.More than 100 officers and civilian staff will be on duty on May 1, including interpreters, with some drafted in from across the Cambridgeshire force.
The anti-fraud push – backed by the city council – will mean at least double the police presence at polling stations compared with last year's elections. Rest days for officers have been cancelled to maintain normal police cover.
The Central ward is to get special attention with fixed CCTV cameras positioned at two voting points. Two police CCTV vans will also be on patrol.
The crackdown follows the jailing earlier this month of three former Labour Party members for attempting to fix the Central ward result in the 2004 election.
Divisional commander for Peterborough Chief Superintendent Paul Phillipson said there was also evidence of voters being bribed in the past to back certain candidates.
He said: "This is the first time we have gone to this level of policing.
Full coverage: Peterborough City Council elections 2008 - peterboroughtoday.co.uk/election2008 It’s because I want to avoid another fraud investigation and will do everything in my power to ensure a lawful and open election – one which everyone from every political party is confident in and the people of Peterborough are confident in.
“I want the opportunity for them to vote in safety, with no intimidation and nothing that causes them any problems.”
Former city mayor Mohammed Choudhary, fellow candidate Maqbool Hussein, and party official Tariq Mahmood were sentenced to prison terms for forgery earlier this month.
They were found to have, in effect, stolen other voters’ identities by applying for postal and proxy votes in their names.
They then had the ballot papers sent to a number of properties in the city and filled them in – all without the knowledge of the people concerned.
Chief Supt Phillipson said a separate court case following the 2007 election in Central ward raised concerns over voters simply being bribed to vote a particular way.
Two Slovakians were convicted of impersonating others to illegally vote after accepting 20 each and being handed polling cards with others’ names on them.
One card carried the name of an Asian woman and the scam was easily rumbled.
But fears remained the racket still went on, Chief Supt Phillipson said, along with more subtle “treating” – offering food or drink and then demanding a favour is done in return at the ballot box.
He said he was also concerned some voters are open to pressure through the control others have over their work and accommodation.
Chief Supt Phillipson said: “There will be a full-time presence at some of the more vulnerable polling stations to deter fraud and CCTV, so if the same vehicles are regularly bringing people to vote we will ask, why? It may be legal, but it may not be.
“We will also have a number of multi-lingual support officers at some stations so we have the language skills for the different communities.”
Director of strategic resources at the city council John Harrison said steps have already been taken to clean up the electoral register.
Blank registration forms were sent out for the first time “in years” to homes, rather than ones printed with the names of previous voters, to cut the chances of the names of those who had moved house being used in fraud.
And those coming into the town hall to register large numbers of new voters have been captured on CCTV.
A confidential election fraud hotline is also running on 01733 452439.
Comment: Page 12
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -3 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.