Are the police even bothering to fight crime?

The comments following this post on Iain Dale's Diary are must-read.   There is bubbling public anger at the failure of the police to take crime seriously and real disappointment at the failure of anyone in authority to be exercised about it.

I only have one complaint about Iain's account of the 'Doughty Street crime wave' - he neglected to mention that my recently acquired bike was also stolen over the weekend - from outside 18 Doughty Street.

Comments

[Sally Roberts]

Disgraceful, Editor that you have become a Victim of Crime! Sadly you probably won't get your bike back - but I am sure you will get a letter from your local Victim Support enquiring if you are in need of counselling - as I did when I had my bag snatched a couple of years ago!! Needless to say I didn't take them up on their kind offer!

[Iain Murray]

You're obviously the victim of big oil, wanting to get you into a carbon-emitting car, Tim.

[George Hinton]

The Police action is a reflection on the plethora of laws and legislation that has been passed. Much without any-thought as to its implementation, but as a typical NuLab knee jerk reaction to the headlines.
Indeed what is the point of policing, when so much law is badly drafted and there are more holes to be exploited than a Gruyere cheese.
The recent court case concerning drug addicts having to suffer cold turkey is a classic, since when did those that offend the mores of society, have a claim to those mores.
The incorporation of the ECHR and Human Rights has rendered much of our legal system ineffective and has allowed the Human Rights lawyers an unprecedented window to exploit.
Back to basics, scrap the new laws, go back to the old, scrap the red tape and targets and get the plod back out on the street, allowed to crack heads and enforce peace and quiet and orderly behaviour.
Everyone knows their rights, but cannot conduct themselves decently.

[Mark Wadsworth]

Well said George.

[bee]

this is nothing new. Wasting Police Time, and the Copper's Blog gives the truth pretty well on the reality of policing. When I had occasion to call the cops, they said they could come in five hours. Had I not sorted it out myself, I would have had to call a private security firm

So much for law & order.

[Michael McGowan]

I thought that Adele Carson's very moving statement to the Old Bailey yesterday put a much-needed articulate human face on the epidemic of knife crime which Labour has presided over and which the Tories would, on current evidence, do little to curb. The savage attack on her fiance (by no means uncommon) shows how little politicians care about the lives of ordinary people. They are expendable. Sir Ian Blair even tried to attack those taking an interest in the case as "racist". No doubt we can look forward to Trevor Phillips telling us that yesterday's convictions were an example of "institutional racism". Perhaps he can then let us know which of the two murderers should be released and why.

[TomTom]

my recently acquired bike was also stolen over the weekend - from outside 18 Doughty Street.

Was it you following him in the Lexus then ?

The incorporation of the ECHR and Human Rights has rendered much of our legal system ineffective

I don't think this is true. The situation started with Woy Jenkins as Liberal Home Secretary in a Labour Govt. It continued with the training of lawyers in English Universities and the politics of leading lawyers -

The agenda to use law to effect social change was not inflicted on the plucky little English - it was the English who imposed the ECHR on the rest of Europe in 1951.

It is England more than any other European country which created this doctrine, fused with entitlement theory imported from US legal academics - it is men like Ronald Dworkin at Oxford - rather than H L A Hart or Atiyah who created this system.

It was British Governments that fished for political tinsel in the US and still do that imported the Race Relations Act modelled on the 1964 Civil Rights Act - it is Britain that pushed Equal Opportunity legislation decades before the rest of Europe.

Germany only passed an EU required Race/Gender Law last year.

The English are supreme hypocrities blaming foreigners for their own woolly-minded incompetence. Even immigration is covered by the Immigration & Asylum Acts not the 1967 Convention - it is British MPs who pass laws and are paid to read them.

When a Barrister like Ken Clarke boasts he had never read Maastricht I ask why we need a Parliament at all..............

The fault lies in England and its crassly incompetent legal system with its administrative muddle and procedural incompetence...............it is so amateurish as to be like something from Lewis Carroll.

I am tired of people ranting on about the ECHR as if England was something from Miss Marple-land before Labour threw weed seeds into the rose garden

[Editor]

I need to ask you something TomTom but your email address doesn't work. Can you contact me please?

[Richard]

The fact is that we need a significant increase in the number of policemen. Back in 1971 we had a police officer for every 17 reported crimes. In 2001 that figure was 44. This doesn't even take into account the hypothesis that both BCS and reported crime figures are possibly an underestimate.

http://clients.voltuum.com/rawcarrot/2006/06/01/a-land-fit-for-criminals/

[Tom Greeves]

Sorry to hear that someone got on (and nicked) your bike, Tim.

Maybe they misinterpreted Norman Tebbit's advice.

[Mark Fulford]

In defence of what's happening in my area: the village already has a dedicated Beat PC and a Community Support Officer, plus we have another one of each starting in January. Considering that locally we have only minor aggravation and no ASBOs, in straight-numbers it’s verging on overkill. But sadly, before doing any pinching, the thieves are clever enough to check the coast is clear - meaning the Police are never in the right place at the right time.

Rather than more Police we need better detection rates, but that takes more ability than the Police are prepared to pay for.

Personally I’d take less Police, less tax and greater community spirit in tackling crime. Abolishing insurance might do the trick too.

[Richard]

Ah, I've found what I was looking for.

According to "The Economic and Social Costs of Crime" published by the Home Office in 2000, the number of crimes committed per year (back then) totalled 60 million.

How much is it going to cost us to sort that out?

[Daniel VA]

"There is bubbling public anger at the failure of the police to take crime seriously and real disappointment at the failure of anyone in authority to be exercised about it."

Poor old Plod always seems to get it in the neck for 'failing to take crime seriously', when the truth is that Plod is under-resourced and over-burdened.

Public anger should lie with those who tie Plod's hands with red-tape, bury Plod under a mountain of paperwork and fail to give Plod the money, resources and powers needed to do the job.

Notwithstanding the preening, posturing, self-aggrandising antics of Sir Ian Blair, Richard Brunstrom and Brian Paddick, our police forces are, on the whole, made up of extremely dedicated individuals who have committed themselves to serve as guardians of law and order for all of us.

Instead of criticising them, how about praising them for the service they perform for us and recognising the tough job they do under difficult circumstances, often with very little thanks and questionable levels of support from above?

[Tory Loyalist]

Notwithstanding the preening, posturing, self-aggrandising antics of Sir Ian Blair, Richard Brunstrom and Brian Paddick, our police forces are, on the whole, made up of extremely dedicated individuals who have committed themselves to serve as guardians of law and order for all of us
______________________________________________________

That's true to an extent, but there is no doubt that the calibre of officers at all levels has deteriorated over the past 20/30 years.

Does anybody recall the bleatings of a man called Anderson who was once Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police? We learned from him what was then the truth, that virtually every other Chief Constable was an old-school Tory with no-nonsense ideas about crime, morals, "respectability" and so forth.

Britain's police has now been totally debauched with leftist liberals promoted to the highest ranks. Even relatively traditional policemen like (Lord) John Stephens had to toe the PC line to get on.

In the course of my social life I meet serving and retired policemen all the time and believe me they have plenty to belly-ache about.

[Denis Cooper]

I suspect it's the training, rather than the calibre. They're forced to give so much attention to the government's warped political agenda for re-education of the indigenous masses, promoting and defending multi-culturalism, suppressing dissidents and general social engineering that it leaves insufficient resources to deal properly with real crime - even if they had sufficient resources to do that in the first place, which they wouldn't have because crime was allowed to get out of hand through the likes of Roy Jenkins and they've never caught up with it.

[Derek]

Was your bike padlocked, Tim? The situation today is that you cannot leave anything unlocked, or on display, or it will get stolen.

Our prisons are too comfortable. As others have said the human rights act needs re-drafting. Prisoners rights should only be very basic. That would cut re-offending rates. We need to learn from Sheriff Arpageo from Arizona [ I think that was his name]. It's really quite simple, but we need politicians to take the tough decisions. Are there any out there in our major parties?

[Andrew]

Probably just as well - isn't cycling in London a touch suicidal?

[PH]

Tim, sorry about your bike mate, you should at least be proud that the crims around there are carbon neutral - small consolation I know.

I had a break-in here in sunny Bristol. Easy to blame the police, but if I were a copper in Brizzle I would find it soul-destroying that the abysmal state education system in this town is producing thousands of illiterate ill mannered children each year, with few career options. As a copper I would find being blamed when those same kids turn up on the streets committing crime a little like blaming a farmer when the stable-hand didn't bolt the door before the horse did a runner.

Appreciate the police are nowhere near as effective as they could be. But if I were a 'blogging' Police Chief I would point out that Blair said he was going to be '..tough on the causes of crime' and prioritise 'Education, Education, Education'. Little sign of out round here, I have to say.

[Scotty]

Sorry to hear about Tim, Iain and their guest's experience of crime and the reaction of the local police.
It made me wonder about why it is that a group of people in one part of London could not get a police officer to attend, yet how many police officer's were needed to remove one protester from outside Westminster?
Has all that new legislation brought in by Labour made you less likely to be a victim of crime or just made it more difficult for us to complain about the government?

[Scotty]

Just seen this on Guido's site, absolutely priceless.
http://5thnovember.blogspot.com/2006/11/hello-home-office-blog-watchers.html

[James Sproule]

I too had my bicycle stolen a couple of years ago. What compounded my considerable annoyance is the reaction from the Police when I reported the theft: “Ah yes, that will be those brothers in the council estate around the corner from you, they have been very active lately”. I now buy only the most clapped out of second hand bicycles, so ensuring there is always something more tempting for my neighbours covetous eyes.

[johnC]

It is clear that crime can be reduced if there is the political will to achieve it. Michael Howard managed it. Shouldn't he be put in charge of a party policy group on crime and punishment ?

[John Hirst]

johnC: Michael Howard did not reduce crime, he altered the statistics. However, penal reform is possible if there is the political will, and this would reduce crime. Given Michael Howard's failure as Home Secretary, he should not be let loose anywhere near the subject of crime and punishment.

My first conviction was for stealing a bike. It was taken to assist my journey from the orphanage, running away from physical and sexual abuse. I did not feel guilty in the circumstances. These days they tend to be taken to be sold for smack or heroin.

Since the police speed cameras caught me, I am back to using Shank's Pony. The walking will do you the world of good Tim.