Do we need a return to beat bobbies?
POLICE officers are being exhorted to get out of their cars and walk the beat (Mail). I’m sorry, but the nature of policing has changed radically. Different sorts of crimes are being committed, in addition to burglaries, assaults and shoplifting. Police need to be more mobile to react quickly and should be based where there is a maximum risk of crime, such as shopping centres and railway stations, not walking down the sunny residential streets of suburbia. In the 20 years I have lived in my home, I have never seen a bobby pass by, and nor would I want to. As a taxpayer and council taxpayer, I do want the police to be as effective as possible. It’s down to them to work out where to put their limited resources. If you wish to see policemen walking up leafy Acacia Avenue, watch some re-runs of Dixon Of Dock Green.
DAVID GARDNER, Sevenoaks, Kent. NEARLY half of the public didn’t see a police officer patrolling their patch at any time last year, according to a survey. I haven’t seen a bobby on my busy High Street for at least five years. The absence of a police presence has come with a high price, because those people with a propensity for anti-social behaving can misbehave with impunity. Bobbies on the beat would make the public feel safer and discourage those who feel inclined to misbehave.
PETER HENRICK, Northfield, W. Mids. PERHAPS one reason for vanishing bobbies is down to a lack of good management, which explains why, when we do see police officers, they are nearly always in pairs. When I was a senior officer, I never allowed them to double up unless there was a sound operational reason. With radios and mobile phones, they have instant communications, so if they were to be split up, more people would see an officer and gain the reassurance their presence engenders. I consider this to be vital to public welfare.
NORMAN WICKS, Hexham, Northumberland. THE last time I saw police officers on my streets was 15 years ago when they were filming an episode of The Bill.
CLIVE WHICHELOW, London SW19. MY TOWN has a population of 20,000. When the police station closed, two officers were allocated to the area, but I have not seen one on patrol for years. Car crime is rife and break-ins are on the increase — when will something be done to change this?
ALBERT WORRALL, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcs. WHERE are the 9,000 officers deployed at the Notting Hill Carnival for the rest of the year? PHILIP MENZIES, Hornchurch, Essex.