Private security in lieu of police.
Discussion
I was in West Bridgford Notts last night, for a bite to eat.
Boris's business decimation scheme was in full effect and the place was dead, save for herds of teenagers being chavy and noisy in the street.
But something odd was going on. The policing was being done by Magpie Security, with the assistance of a van with cameras on it and one uniformed officer .
Later in the evening, the uniformed chap seemed to have gone and the camera van was tearing around like Lewis Hamilton had nicked it. There then ensued a sort of Keystone Cops scene, where teenagers appeared in entrances and the camera van chased them away.
It was all rather dystopian. But what on earth was going on? Is the local authority supplementing police cover with private security?
Frinton has had some private security for a while.
I don't see that they would have any extra powers over any citizen, but a visible presence is a good deterrent.
Interesting subject though.
In my area I've seen the Police force fail in some aspects in recent years, shoplifters and bike thieves have almost a free reign in our town.
Why shouldn't locals be able to pay a decent firm to keep them safe?
I'd happily pay a few quid per month to know I'd have someone at my door within minutes if I had a problem.
The Police here had no one to send recently when there was someone inside my missus's car on the drive.
My friend moved to Brighton Marina, partly because of the security there that keep an eye on everything.
I don't see that they would have any extra powers over any citizen, but a visible presence is a good deterrent.
Interesting subject though.
In my area I've seen the Police force fail in some aspects in recent years, shoplifters and bike thieves have almost a free reign in our town.
Why shouldn't locals be able to pay a decent firm to keep them safe?
I'd happily pay a few quid per month to know I'd have someone at my door within minutes if I had a problem.
The Police here had no one to send recently when there was someone inside my missus's car on the drive.
My friend moved to Brighton Marina, partly because of the security there that keep an eye on everything.
It looks like Clacton is looking into it as well.
https://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/18...
https://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/18...
I blame the electorate.
We allowed the Govt to cut 44,000 Police Officers and Staff whilst crime complexity increased, but didn't really do anything about it.
The Police focused on the kind of crimes that cause greatest harm & vulnerable victims, whilst paying polite lip service to "Neighbourhood Policing". In a similar vein, road deaths have been seen as a fact of life, and so Roads Policing is almost non-existent in some areas.
Automated Safety - Cameras - have proliferated as forces seek to maintain some element of enforcement in high-risk locations, but they aren't catching the travelling criminals first hand, in the way a patrol would, identifying the more serious offences being facilitated by the driver.
The Govt have announced that they will recruit 20,000 Officers over 3 years, to replace the 22,000 they cut. Apparently thats good news.
I think the Police will do their best with what they're given. Give them less, you'll get less.
In other parts of Nottingham the armed patrols are being kept busy. I can't blame the force for not chasing kids on bikes when not so far away they're caring weapons.
We allowed the Govt to cut 44,000 Police Officers and Staff whilst crime complexity increased, but didn't really do anything about it.
The Police focused on the kind of crimes that cause greatest harm & vulnerable victims, whilst paying polite lip service to "Neighbourhood Policing". In a similar vein, road deaths have been seen as a fact of life, and so Roads Policing is almost non-existent in some areas.
Automated Safety - Cameras - have proliferated as forces seek to maintain some element of enforcement in high-risk locations, but they aren't catching the travelling criminals first hand, in the way a patrol would, identifying the more serious offences being facilitated by the driver.
The Govt have announced that they will recruit 20,000 Officers over 3 years, to replace the 22,000 they cut. Apparently thats good news.
I think the Police will do their best with what they're given. Give them less, you'll get less.
In other parts of Nottingham the armed patrols are being kept busy. I can't blame the force for not chasing kids on bikes when not so far away they're caring weapons.
Nickyboy said:
Shomrim have been doing it for years but the Jewish community are well respected for sorting out their own problems. Like already said they have no more powers then you or me but will take evidence and work with the Police for any prosecution.
Yeah - lots of “Shomrim” fake police cars around north west London. Some of their guys look pretty serious too. Trevor555 said:
Interesting subject though.
In my area I've seen the Police force fail in some aspects in recent years, shoplifters and bike thieves have almost a free reign in our town.
Some shops (chains) generally aren't that bothered about reporting thefts, or providing evidence. It's built into their business model i.e. the losses from theft are borne by you through higher cost.In my area I've seen the Police force fail in some aspects in recent years, shoplifters and bike thieves have almost a free reign in our town.
Consider what that does to encourage and attract thieves, while at the same time causing detriment to the efforts of the police.
Trevor555 said:
I'd happily pay a few quid per month to know I'd have someone at my door within minutes if I had a problem.
The Police here had no one to send recently when there was someone inside my missus's car on the drive.
Why not pay a few quid to the police then? While we're at it, why not pay more for other agencies and ask why the police are still expected to pick up the slack from cuts elsewhere in the public sector? It's a conversation to have with your MP.The Police here had no one to send recently when there was someone inside my missus's car on the drive.
RogueTrooper said:
Why not pay a few quid to the police then? While we're at it, why not pay more for other agencies and ask why the police are still expected to pick up the slack from cuts elsewhere in the public sector? It's a conversation to have with your MP.
Would paying a few more quid to the police guarantee regular patrols down my street, or would that money go to fund policing in other areas?Lopey said:
RogueTrooper said:
Why not pay a few quid to the police then? While we're at it, why not pay more for other agencies and ask why the police are still expected to pick up the slack from cuts elsewhere in the public sector? It's a conversation to have with your MP.
Would paying a few more quid to the police guarantee regular patrols down my street, or would that money go to fund policing in other areas?Some years ago the PCC wanted more funding, so they gave us a vote on whether or not we wanted to pay a bit extra on our council tax in order to improve policing in my area. I seem to recall it was around £1 per week per household. The vote did not pass.
I can only speak of the opinions in the circles I move in but for those who were against, the left-wing view was "why should I pay more, austerity is a Tory thing" and the right-wing view was "the Labour PCC is just wasting money, he should stand down".
Personally I voted for the rise...the PCC was indeed rubbish but refusing him funding to keep my area safe seemed like cutting off my nose to spite my face.
williamp said:
Lopey said:
Would paying a few more quid to the police guarantee regular patrols down my street, or would that money go to fund policing in other areas?
Im not sure you can pick and choose what laws you want policing...Nampahc Niloc said:
That’s not what he’s saying. He’s saying he would happily pay more to the police of it guaranteed it would go to policing his area. We all know that isn’t the case, so maybe private security is the answer.
The problem with employing private security is that people will question why they need to fund the police at all. I'm not sure it would be a good idea for us to go down that roadNampahc Niloc said:
williamp said:
Lopey said:
Would paying a few more quid to the police guarantee regular patrols down my street, or would that money go to fund policing in other areas?
Im not sure you can pick and choose what laws you want policing...Nampahc Niloc said:
That’s not what he’s saying. He’s saying he would happily pay more to the police of it guaranteed it would go to policing his area. We all know that isn’t the case, so maybe private security is the answer.
theyd promise to patrol your street /area then spend it all on a camera van If it helped improve the single digit % conviction rate for our local police force, I'd definitely pay for supplemental private security in our area. I'm at a bit of a loss as to why there isn't more of an outcry at the appalling success rate of catching and prosecuting criminals. If this were in the private sector, the 4% success rate of our local police force surely wouldn't be tolerated....
Fatherdougal said:
If it helped improve the single digit % conviction rate for our local police force, I'd definitely pay for supplemental private security in our area. I'm at a bit of a loss as to why there isn't more of an outcry at the appalling success rate of catching and prosecuting criminals. If this were in the private sector, the 4% success rate of our local police force surely wouldn't be tolerated....
Being in the middle of dealing with our local force over some of their...er...shortcomings, I can assure you that trying to compare police efficiency and private sector efficiency is like trying to compare mashed potato with inter-planetary space travel.RogueTrooper said:
Trevor555 said:
Interesting subject though.
In my area I've seen the Police force fail in some aspects in recent years, shoplifters and bike thieves have almost a free reign in our town.
Some shops (chains) generally aren't that bothered about reporting thefts, or providing evidence. It's built into their business model i.e. the losses from theft are borne by you through higher cost.In my area I've seen the Police force fail in some aspects in recent years, shoplifters and bike thieves have almost a free reign in our town.
Consider what that does to encourage and attract thieves, while at the same time causing detriment to the efforts of the police.
Krupp88 said:
Both retailers and the Police will both blame each other when it comes to shoplifting. The issue for national retailers isn't the occasional theft it's being targeted by organised groups. These groups exploit the organisational vulnerabilities of the 27 odd Police Services and the known difficulty of pursuing cross boundary offences (or in the case of London, cross borough).
There's a few more than 27:Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Bedfordshire Police
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary
City of London Police
Cleveland Police
Cumbria Constabulary
Derbyshire Constabulary
Devon and Cornwall Police
Dorset Police
Durham Constabulary
Dyfed-Powys Police
Essex Police
Gloucestershire Constabulary
Greater Manchester Police
Gwent Police
Hampshire Constabulary
Hertfordshire Constabulary
Humberside Police
Kent Police
Lancashire Constabulary
Leicestershire Constabulary
Lincolnshire Police
Merseyside Police
Metropolitan Police Services
Norfolk Constabulary
North Wales Police
North Yorkshire Police
Northamptonshire Police
Northumbria Police
Nottinghamshire Police
South Wales Police
South Yorkshire Police
Staffordshire Police
Suffolk Constabulary
Surrey Police
Sussex Police
Thames Valley Police
Warwickshire Police
West Mercia Police
West Midlands Police
West Yorkshire Police
Wiltshire Police
and BTP.
Pothole said:
Krupp88 said:
Both retailers and the Police will both blame each other when it comes to shoplifting. The issue for national retailers isn't the occasional theft it's being targeted by organised groups. These groups exploit the organisational vulnerabilities of the 27 odd Police Services and the known difficulty of pursuing cross boundary offences (or in the case of London, cross borough).
There's a few more than 27:Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Bedfordshire Police
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary
City of London Police
Cleveland Police
Cumbria Constabulary
Derbyshire Constabulary
Devon and Cornwall Police
Dorset Police
Durham Constabulary
Dyfed-Powys Police
Essex Police
Gloucestershire Constabulary
Greater Manchester Police
Gwent Police
Hampshire Constabulary
Hertfordshire Constabulary
Humberside Police
Kent Police
Lancashire Constabulary
Leicestershire Constabulary
Lincolnshire Police
Merseyside Police
Metropolitan Police Services
Norfolk Constabulary
North Wales Police
North Yorkshire Police
Northamptonshire Police
Northumbria Police
Nottinghamshire Police
South Wales Police
South Yorkshire Police
Staffordshire Police
Suffolk Constabulary
Surrey Police
Sussex Police
Thames Valley Police
Warwickshire Police
West Mercia Police
West Midlands Police
West Yorkshire Police
Wiltshire Police
and BTP.
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