Get police back on the beat...it’s a real deterrent

I totally agree with Peter Hitchens that we need police back out on patrol, not only to protect women but for the safety of everyone.

We must try to prevent the opportunity to commit crime: visible policing is our only deterrent. How else are the officers expected to know the residents of any area and its possible dangers?

Julie Bailey, Bedfordshire

On its own, the return of beat officers will regrettably do little.

Some years ago I qualified as a magistrate, but currently don’t sit. In my view, the sentencing guidelines no longer instil much of a deterrent.

We can have more police patrolling the streets, but until the justice system issues robust sentences with a deterrent, punitive and rehabilitative element, in that order, crime will continue to rise.

Angus Long, Newcastle upon Tyne

As a retired police officer, I am painfully aware that we no longer see officers on the beat. With so many police stations having been closed, the link with the public has already been lost. The distance between police stations is so great that it is impossible for an officer to walk to his area and back in the time allotted.

Police officers who patrolled a beat in days gone by knew their areas, knew the public they served and, more importantly, knew who their local criminals were and where they lived.

Local information, so important to good policing, has been lost. Wayne Boothroyd, Bromley, Kent

Peter Hitchens has an unrealistic expectation of the effectiveness of police walking the streets. He has clearly never done the job or managed those who have. I have done both.

Police foot patrols have their place, such as in city centres or in some very quiet rural areas where officers become known. They are not, however, effective in most other areas. Offenders today are not like those in the 1950s – they have cars and mobile phones.

Y. Parker, Essex

We rarely see police community support officers on the beat, so why can’t they patrol the streets? They could quickly contact their station when necessary and act as a real deterrent.

Andrew Pettigrew, Haslingden, Lancashire

How is it we can all see that the problem is not enough police patrolling the streets, but successive governments cannot?

L. Hurst, Preston

As much as I agree with Peter Hitchens, most of the police officers I see today are simply too overweight to do much walking, let alone chase fleeing criminals.

K. Blair, Manchester

It’s a good idea. The police have been active and visible enough when the Government wanted them to be during the past 12 months, so they have no excuse in the future.

M. Kelly, Cheshire