Policing priorities

We are used to special pleading at the annual round of public sector conferences and the police are no exception. Gavin Thomas, who heads the Chief Superintendents’ Association, says the service faces “a perpetual crisis” because of under-funding and staff cuts. As a consequence the public is being duped into believing there is a greater level of protection than actually exists.

Chief Supt Thomas says there is a “void in the long-term strategic vision for the police service” that can only be addressed by “difficult and bold” decisions from the Government. We would have greater sympathy for the police, who have seen significant cuts in numbers, if they used the resources they do have in a sensible way that reflects the priorities of most people.

Part of the problem is captured by the nomenclature useds. The public wants the police to be a force, not a “service” – one that upholds law and order. It also expects the police to focus on preventing street violence and investigating offences such as burglaries. What few people will understand is the emphasis placed on what are essentially thought crimes. South Yorkshire constabulary has issued a request to people in the area to “report non-crime hate incidents, which can include things like offensive or insulting comments, online, in person or in writing”.

If Chief Supt Thomas is right about the pressure on policing, how will the force (sorry, service) have the time or the manpower to investigate every perceived slight at which someone, somewhere will always take umbrage? If there is to be a “perpetual crisis” in policing it will be caused by misplaced priorities such as these.