Are the Police Service fit for purpose anymore?
Discussion
I could point at almost any set of data in almost any field of crime, convictions, arrests, investigations and see that the Police are doing less well across almost every measure.
Going back a few years most towns and villages had boots on the ground, whose purpose was more about prevention and visibility than anything. The modern service has an awful record on pretty much every measure.
I fully expect cuts, budgets and manpower to be an issue, but I think it is a far more fundamental set of problems. Which may be wider in the criminal justice system, but lets focus on the police.
The amount of stories and anecdotes about the police failing to act on even slam dunk cases (low level crime) is getting ridiculous, and the incidents such as XR in Cambridge is frankly just spitting in the public’s face.
Solutions ?
I think, on the whole, given the scarcity of resources and the people they have to deal with, they do pretty well.
i think a cheap effective way of having an impact on low-level crime would be letting them taser in the balls anybody they catch on those "Police! Stop! Crash!" programmes. I appreciate there's a fundamental flaw with this approach (women and eunuchs are at an advantage) but i think if the Home Office was to set up some kind of Think Tank, niggling issues could be resolved.
i think a cheap effective way of having an impact on low-level crime would be letting them taser in the balls anybody they catch on those "Police! Stop! Crash!" programmes. I appreciate there's a fundamental flaw with this approach (women and eunuchs are at an advantage) but i think if the Home Office was to set up some kind of Think Tank, niggling issues could be resolved.
The police have become increasingly detached from the public over the past few decades.
They have also become much less corrupt.
Too many politicians see the police as a political puppet and too many senior police encourage that.
They certainly don’t seem to be solving much in the way of fraud and theft, but are great at operating cameras.
They have also become much less corrupt.
Too many politicians see the police as a political puppet and too many senior police encourage that.
They certainly don’t seem to be solving much in the way of fraud and theft, but are great at operating cameras.
It’s the same problems that faces the NHS - it either needs more money or to review its scope of services. Which of these is the right action depends on where you sit on the political spectrum.
You could probably make a good case to say it needs more resource AND to review its scope.
You could probably make a good case to say it needs more resource AND to review its scope.
The Police are no longer independent.
They are politically controlled and work to a frame work provided by the Home Office.
They are judged by attainment of centrally decided criteria
You can blame one Mr T. Blair for destroying the independence of the Police
Ably assisted by the worst Home Secretary ever, Theresa May who hobbled the operational effectiveness and resilience in cahoots with Cameron who had a bizarre irrational hatred of the Police.
In my view a Royal Commission into policing is long overdue
They are politically controlled and work to a frame work provided by the Home Office.
They are judged by attainment of centrally decided criteria
You can blame one Mr T. Blair for destroying the independence of the Police
Ably assisted by the worst Home Secretary ever, Theresa May who hobbled the operational effectiveness and resilience in cahoots with Cameron who had a bizarre irrational hatred of the Police.
In my view a Royal Commission into policing is long overdue
Gargamel said:
I could point at almost any set of data in almost any field of crime, convictions, arrests, investigations and see that the Police are doing less well across almost every measure.
Going back a few years most towns and villages had boots on the ground, whose purpose was more about prevention and visibility than anything. The modern service has an awful record on pretty much every measure.
I fully expect cuts, budgets and manpower to be an issue, but I think it is a far more fundamental set of problems. Which may be wider in the criminal justice system, but lets focus on the police.
The amount of stories and anecdotes about the police failing to act on even slam dunk cases (low level crime) is getting ridiculous, and the incidents such as XR in Cambridge is frankly just spitting in the public’s face.
Solutions ?
So is it data or anecdotes?Going back a few years most towns and villages had boots on the ground, whose purpose was more about prevention and visibility than anything. The modern service has an awful record on pretty much every measure.
I fully expect cuts, budgets and manpower to be an issue, but I think it is a far more fundamental set of problems. Which may be wider in the criminal justice system, but lets focus on the police.
The amount of stories and anecdotes about the police failing to act on even slam dunk cases (low level crime) is getting ridiculous, and the incidents such as XR in Cambridge is frankly just spitting in the public’s face.
Solutions ?
Gargamel said:
They have 12.3 Billion to spend. And 124,000 Police Officers.
Are they really short of manpower or resources ?
Yes.Are they really short of manpower or resources ?
One of my lads is a police inspector and says sometimes there are only three/five policemen to patrol his large local northern town with a population of over 140,000. If there was a really serious incident officers would have to be brought in from smaller surrounding towns leaving them short.
For example, if someone is assaulted and has to go to hospital, usually a policeman/woman has to stay with them at the hospital all night, of course taking them off the streets where they should be.
Idiotic drunken behaviour at weekends stretches their resources to the limit.
These 20,000 new recruits are just a fraction of what is needed, that's nothing.
There has also been a huge rise in the number and types of crime which the police are dealing with, while the population keeps increasing too.
The police are massively under resourced, based on what we expect them to do and compared to historical relationships between their workload and population size.
The police are massively under resourced, based on what we expect them to do and compared to historical relationships between their workload and population size.
Cold said:
Elsewhere on PH someone will supply links to various polls and graphs that "prove" the public feel the police are doing just fine thankyouverymuch.
It's unlikely you'll be able to change their minds.
So what do you want us (the public to believe).It's unlikely you'll be able to change their minds.
You don't want us to believe government stats.
You don't want us to believe polls.
You don't want us to believe police officers who post on PH.
Do you simply want us to take your ranty words as gospel?
oyster said:
So what do you want us (the public to believe).
You don't want us to believe government stats.
You don't want us to believe polls.
You don't want us to believe police officers who post on PH.
Do you simply want us to take your ranty words as gospel?
Which ranty words would they be? You don't want us to believe government stats.
You don't want us to believe polls.
You don't want us to believe police officers who post on PH.
Do you simply want us to take your ranty words as gospel?
The main issue is the lack of deterrent offered by the justice system, how many of the perpetrators the police deal with are repeat offenders?
Decent sentencing is needed and if that means more prison spaces then so be it, the extra tax burden would easily be covered with the savings of keeping those who are career criminals behind bars.
Another issue is that the Police now turn a blind eye to smaller crimes, in London you can smell cannabis being smoked everywhere, red lights being jumped with impunity.
Decent sentencing is needed and if that means more prison spaces then so be it, the extra tax burden would easily be covered with the savings of keeping those who are career criminals behind bars.
Another issue is that the Police now turn a blind eye to smaller crimes, in London you can smell cannabis being smoked everywhere, red lights being jumped with impunity.
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