The signs that our police force is not fit for purpose

WHAT a very sorry state of affairs is revealed in the report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary about the state of the police service today. The clue is in the word “service” because quite frankly there isn’t one. Our hardworking and hard-pressed officers are absolutely not to blame but we are now at a stage when we should be asking: is the police service fit for purpose?

For we need effective forces across the country and we don’t seem to have them. If someone is a victim of crime, it is a traumatic and stressful experience and if the police do not respond immediately, it makes matters considerably worse. The real problem of course is that resources have been cut back to the bone in the name of efficiency.

Yes we should expect the police to provide value for money but this has gone too far. It is absolutely appalling that a quarter of forces fail to respond properly to 999 calls – surely that is one of the most vital parts of their job.

There is a case to be made for different forces to share their responses but if we want officers to tackle and prevent crime, reassuring the public in the process, then this state of affairs cannot go on. We need increased resources and we also need the police to put their own house in order. They work under very trying conditions but it is up to them as well as the Government to put matters right.