Criminals must learn to fear the police
The Prime Minister has described the death of Pc Andrew Harper as “the most powerful reminder that police officers up and down the country put themselves at risk every single day to keep us safe”. On Thursday at about 11.30pm, in Berkshire, Pc Harper was struck by a car and then dragged by the vehicle for some distance, before being hit by another car. It is believed that he was just 28 years old and he had only recently married. Ten people were arrested.
This shocking incident comes after another policeman was attacked with a machete in London just after midnight on August 8. Figures released this week show an average of 28 police officers are injured in assaults every day – a number that might be an underestimate, because it doesn’t necessarily include categories such as attempted murder. Recorded assaults on officers rose by 18 per cent in the 12 months to March 2019. The obvious questions are why and what will be done about it?
There are various explanations for our present crisis: budget cuts, fewer police on the streets, the prevalence of knives, and an underground narcotics industry that uses young, vulnerable people to evade the authorities. Another is a pervasive decline in respect for authority. If criminals are shamelessly attacking the police, it suggests that they are no longer afraid of the consequences of their actions.
Who is surprised, given the way the British establishment has hamstrung the police – replacing common sense with political correctness – as all the while Westminster has weakened some of the essential tools of justice? Stop and search was cut back; the last justice minister wanted to abolish sentences under six months. Boris Johnson has signalled his frustration with automatic release following this newspaper’s disclosure that some convicts leave jail having served as little as a fifth of their time inside. No one pays closer attention to such trends than criminals, and if they do not live in fear of being caught, it is logical that they will commit more offences.
Britain now has a Home Secretary who says that she wants criminals “to literally feel terror” at the thought of breaking the law. It will be interesting to see how she responds to Pc Harper’s death, beyond expressing sympathy. Restoring respect for the authorities will be one of the key tasks of this Government: a clear example of “taking back control”.