My wife has a name tag from a long ago conference that says "The Future of Policing: The Vol Abroad!" (ok, it has her real name and no exclamation mark).
The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (London's Chief of Police) Sir Ian Blair, has demanded a debate on the future of British policing
"The silence can no longer continue. The citizens of Britain now have to articulate what kind of police service they want."
What do I want from the police? Well, reading Peter Hitchens' "The Abolition of Liberty", which is about the British police, was instructive. Let me see - I want:
1. Beat policing. In urban areas that means lone policemen on foot - or on bicycles in the more spread-out areas like large council estates - each assigned to a particular 'beat', with the entire beat patrolled several times a day. This is the one simple but radical measure that would reconnect the police with the people and provide a sense that inner-city areas were owned by the lawful inhabitants, not thugs and criminals.
Currently the police are never seen on the streets, except whizzing along in their cars with sirens blazing. This does nothing to make the public feel safe, quite the reverse. We're lucky enough that the visible presence of police here does make people feel safe, in many countries the police are a source of fear. That's a huge asset that is currently squandered. Now we have "Police Community Support Officers" who perform the beat policing function in some areas, but with limited training, limited powers, low pay and un-policey uniforms - they look more like traffic wardens. Realistically, our pampered 'real' police are not going to give up their desks and squad cars, so I guess improving the status and uniforms of PCSOs is the best alternative. What we don't want is the French situation with a widely distrusted police force waging paramilitary warfare against its own territories. Police have to be there on the ground, interacting with the community, part of the community - most PCSOs in London seem to be ethnic minority, I think as long as they meet reasonable standards of probity and honesty it's a good thing the police are part of the community they serve and nice if they look like the community to some extent. One reason for this is that ethnic minority police should be less vulnerable to unfounded charges of racism and other thought crimes, which should enable them to act more professionally. Currently it seems if a white police officer hears someone say nigger, they arrest them, for fear of being found Institutionally Racist. I'd like to think a black police officer would use their discretion more sensibly.
2. Crime to be investigated and prosecuted, with criminals jailed. Likelihood of punishment is vital if policing is to have a detterent function. The current prosecution service have a very poor reputation. Returning prosecution to the police would probably be a good idea - OTOH they recently abolished the no-double-jeopardy rule. Repeated prosecutions can be easily abused and are not acceptable IMO. I'd bring the rule back.
3. ...um, that's it really. Does Blair want us to give him a license to kill? I guess I want the police force idealised in Dixon of Dock Green, albeit using modern investigative and forensic techniques. I want the "colour blind policing" the MacPherson report condemned, in that I want the police judging us by the (likely) content of our character rather than by our skin colour. Of course more West Indians are muggers and suicide bombers are Muslim, I don't want them ignoring empirical truth; nor do I want them flagellating themselves at the altar of cultural Marxism. Not when it can get the rest of us shot, blown up or unfairly arrested. I want them to call everyone "sir" or "ma'am" - I like that. I want them mostly unarmed, and I want the armed ones reluctant to shoot - this isn't Basra - in fact it seems investigation of the army in Basra is rather more aggressive than the Met's attitude to trigger-happy CO19 members, such is the power of unionised labour.
Tags:Politics, London, Crime, Police
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I personally am all for a debate on the future of British policing. It's got to quite a state.
Ian Blair complains about all the things the police are asked to do, but as far as I'm concerned that's what the police are supposed to do.
Blair complains that we as the community aren't doing enough of what might be termed "social policing", e.g. telling off the noisy kids or shaking our finger at vandalising hoodlums, but the sad truth is that most of us are too afraid that the law will fail to protect us if the hoody comes back with a knife or perhaps even worse come down on us if the kid makes a complaint.
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