Put police back into community (From Dorset Echo)
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Put police back into community
9:40am Saturday 28th August 2010 in
THE suggestion by James Creasy, (Your Say, August 11), that my ‘venom’ towards the police is because of a speeding ticket is untrue.
I’ve never picked up a speeding ticket since I passed my driving test 45 years ago.
On the contrary, my so-called ‘venom’ is directed at those who are ultimately responsible for current police activity on our streets.
Yes, the police are an ‘easy target’ and why shouldn’t they be?
We, as taxpayers, pay their salaries and provide all the expensive BMWs, etc, to enable many of them to carry out their respective duties.
Is Mr Creasy really suggesting that we just let them get on with it?
What we don’t need is more ‘bobbies’ in cars.
Everyone has to agree that putting more police personnel on the beat would prevent crime more effectively than dozens of ‘bobbies’ driving around in cars.
There would be far less ‘feral trash around today’ if more police patrolled on foot on a regular basis.
In cars, they merely whiz by usually unconcerned – I’ve seen them do it.
On foot, however, they are up front and personal with those people Mr Creasy refers to as ‘feral trash’ – a totally different scenario.
But one area where Mr Creasy is right is that, nowadays, the police have become puppets of the politicians and, over the past few decades, politicisation of the police force has occurred.
The role of the police has been changed from its original remit of patrolling the streets and protecting the general public, so politicians can go about their lawful business of using the police as a political football.
This is mainly to suppress any lawful dissent or lawful protest gathering, particularly if it challenges present-day political agendas.
Never mind the villains, just go after the law-abiding citizens.
They are easy targets, particularly on the roads.
Until the police force is taken away from central government control and administered by local communities, (perhaps with a FBI-type national task force), nothing will get better – it will get worse.
Priorities have to change away from politically-led policing to local-level community policing – simple and effective.
There is absolutely no need for a national police force to fritter away countless millions of pounds trying to find a better way to improve the service they render to us.
The answer is startlingly obvious – get them out of their cars and on to the beat!
It is thanks to a previous Labour government that the police spend far too much time filling out thousands of mind-numbing forms.
Lastly, if we got rid of all the political parties our political future would be in our hands and not those of party politicians.
Political futures will be in the hands of individual voters, not political parties with their own agendas.
Not only will this alternative solution get rid of ‘self-serving politicians’, it will also mean being able to bring the police force back into community control where it actually belongs.
DAVID HARRIS, Abbotsbury Road, Weymouth
Comments(4)
Darbz
says...
12:56pm Wed 1 Sep 10
If you think police in patrol cars is a bad idea then you are clearly foolish, you should run for counseller.
Of course they need high speed pursuit cars like BMW's, some people with fast cars won't play fair.
"In cars, they merely whiz by usually unconcerned – I’ve seen them do it. "
I'd love to know what this supposed incident was, and what YOU did, apart from moan about it. Police officers do have to do something called 'prioritising.' How do you knows something more serious wasn't occuring somewhere else?
If you have a problem with the political system in this country, don't take it out on the police.
Oh, And please feel free to emigrate.
Monmouthsman
says...
1:04pm Thu 2 Sep 10
I would agree that the problems stem from "those who are ultimately responsible for current police activity on our streets." Unfortunately this is clearly the masters at the Home Office where policy and performance expectations are issued without reference to what local communities or even local police commands perceive to be their priorities. Since the Thatcher reign the Home Office has done far more than act as a central coordinating body and developer of best practice. It has very effectively developed the police into a weapon to deliver political clout. This situation was exacerbated through the Blair years as centrally issued performance stats became the ultimate measure of success or failure. We are all too aware of what can be doe with statistics and how they can fail to paint a true picture of quality of service to the community.
It will take an exceptionally brave set of either politicians or chief constables to reverse the home office influence and take us to David Harris' utopia or even back to anything like the pre-Thatcher regime.
As for getting constables back on foot patrol there simply are not enough of them to do this and we are not going to pay enough to allow that many to be recruited. There does seem to be a healthy trend to get bobbies on bikes out and about so the police hierarchy do seem to be listening to the cries to get coppers out of cars. There still seems to be an abnormally high number of instances of fast police cars about this area though and no reasoning for it being communicated. How about the Echo hosting a policing affairs forum?
SimonFA
says...
8:15pm Mon 6 Sep 10
Furthermore, we are often told that bobbies on the beat isn't as cost effective. Who cares, we hire the police to do the job we want doing, not the way some bean counter thinks it should be done.
As the 7th peelian principle states:
"Police should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police are members of the public who are paid for duties which every citizen would do in the interests of community welfare."
The only way they can do that is being part of the community and not sat in cars. It would also help if they weren't dressed like aspiring Rambos.
And as for the the point about fast responses, they are after the event.
The 9th peelian principle states:
The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder.
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franchise says...
10:56pm Tue 31 Aug 10
After reading the general press recently regarding geared overtime and bonuses one feels quite cheated.