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Stated in Saturdays DT( its always a day late in Dresden)the number of front line police in the UK is 120000 this does not include days off ,sickness etc For 56000000 people no wonder the solving rate is only 1 in 10 and 30% of crimes go unreported.Its not cut price under trained traffic wardens an these new wardens but ahigh paid well trained police force that is backed both by the government courts and the people hand all the paper work over to civi staff would be a good start.Its understandable that if you get stopped for speeding you could lose your job house and family and your house gets broken into and nobody is bothered to turn up
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Police numbers are actually higher now than they were 30 years ago. But since then the police have turned from an organisation who enforced the laws of the country into another branch of the social services, with the emphasis on such PC priorities such as racial and gender awareness and making sure that easy to catch motorists are persued with a vigour their lack of reliance on state transport deserves.
I don't ever remember a time when the police were held in such low esteem by the average citizen. This is not the fault of the ordinary police officer, but the idiots who run the system.
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Speeding should be routinely enforced by a non-Police agency.Does it really need "trained" Police Officers to run Gatsos et al (or at all !). I personally reckon that once the Pilot schemes are run that eventually Forces could be told by HO to contract the kit out to civvy companies.
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Mr Plod,
Civvy companies would be profit-motivated, so no change there then!
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The Police Service is doomed as you with greying hair knew it.
Trading Standards now enforcing frauds, Animal Health and some Traffic offences including overweights, sale dangerous vehicles.
Health & Safety Executive - fatal and serious accidents.
NSPCC and RSPCA - cruelty to children and animals.
Traffic wardens - Parking and excise offences.
Speed cameras......... need I go on.
Now Tony's pal David to replace men on the Beat with a lower paid lower tier of beat patrols (community officers - already in being at Sedgefield, Co Durham).
If I still had a black uniform and shiney badge I would be very worried for myself and Joe Public.
Someone once said "Society gets the Police it deserves" We're going down hill fast. Be warned.
DVD
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Dwight,
Don't know about your bit of the World but Child Abuse cases are still very much a Police/Social Services/CPS matter around here. NSPCC does much good work in therapy and actual reporting of such offences, but they still refer onto the local SSD dept who then jointly investigate with the Police. Agree with much else you say though. The Police as we know/knew it is being fragmented as never before, eventually the only time you will see uniforms (not talking about traffic here) will be when there is violence or expectations of violence in a situation. You may recall a documentary on Derby Police where the Specials ran the show for a day - in one domestic it proved to much for them and the regulars had to step in, always thought that that bit deserved the background music of Raggydolls playing.
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I do not want it to seem that I am anti police far from it ,my father who recently died was in the Bradord police for 25 years his last post as mounted officer ,for a long time he was in the aliens dept chasing illegal immigrants untill he was seriusly injured in a knife attack .He told me the writing was on the wall when he said Bradford had upwards of 50000 immigrants from the Indian continent when the official figures said 17000 and was told to keep quite.
Could you honestly say one real incentive to join the UK police God knows how they survive in London with such high housing costs .People who commit crime be it motoring or otherwise deserve to be treated fairly promptly and without prejudice and if guilty punished in a just and appropiate manner.This is one reason why I live in Germany although far from perfect its the best I can find in Europe.If you want to comment off forum anybody can e mail direct as this is not really a motor related topic.
Regards Andy Bairsto
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Thanks AB,
It's the siege mentality I'm afraid, one gets so used to being criticised (as a body not personally) , one is always on the defensive. As regards Alwyn's comment, that is exactly what I mean, Policing and Profit should never be bed-fellows. What springs to mind is the theft of a bottle of milk off a doorstep, this is the theft the same as nicking a boat or car and the offender deserves to be prosecuted or given his right of trial before a Jury, but everything these days is down to the cost. It's been said on this site before, bosses who no the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Tell you what though if it came to being privatized I would be the first in the queue to get the contract, it would be a licence to print money.
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Andy,
As my inspector chum pointed out, that number must be immediately divided by three to cover shift patterns. So at any one time.......................
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Alwyn,
Your police inspector chum is not very good at arithmetic.
Dividing by 3 to get the number on duty at any time would only work if police worked 8 hour shifts 365 days a year.
A general rule is that it takes 6 men to cover one post manned 24 hours a day. This is to work a 38 hour week and cover holidays, sickness, handover periods etc.
SW
PS Just realised that ?man? and ?manned? is not PC. Make that 6 men or 8 women!!!!
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Should the total not be devided by 4. Thats 3 x 8hr shifts = 24hrs and then someone will be day off!
Andrew
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