A painful reality our cops can’t dodge

POLICE moans about ‘lack of resources’ are at last being laughed at as the selfserving propaganda they are. Good. I have tried to make this point for years, and have, as a result, been dishonestly attacked.

Nobody knows what most of the police now do, since they are largely invisible, and the sight of them last week riding round in dodgems or painting their fingernails, while tens of thousands of crimes are filed and forgotten, just adds to the feeling that we are dealing with a badly run nationalised industry which has forgotten who it serves.

The next time you hear a police spokesdrone claim they haven’t the man power, show them this chart, which proves that they did a far better job with far fewer numbers (in total and per head) in the past.

I don’t have the Scottish figures, but suspect they would show the same pattern: 1901: Population (England and Wales) 32.5 million; police strength (England and Wales) 42,484 1911: Pop 36 m; police 51,203 1921: Pop 37.9 m; police 56,914 1931: Pop 40 m; police 58,656 1941: Pop (estimated) 41.75 m; police 56,193 1951: Pop 43.75 m; police 63,116 1961: Pop 46.17 m; police 57,161 NB: Preventive foot patrol was abolished from 1964 by the Home Office. As this service was withdrawn, numbers began to go up. 1971: Pop 48.56 m; police 95,759 1981: Pop 49 m; police 118,081 1991: Pop 49.9 m; police 125,294

As the numbers climbed, the service got worse. And now, the latest estimated population of England and Wales is just under 58.4 million. Police numbers in March this year were 123,142, plus 9,826 ‘Community Support’ officers and 58,831 white-collar back-up staff.

Time for a go on the dodgems, Sergeant?