OPINION
Amongst the many anguished published pieces after the appalling murder by a SERVING policeman of a young and vibrant woman, there have been many stories about how the public’s trust in the various Police Services (to use their vocabulary) has been weakened; or in many cases severely threatened.
My generation really used to respect the Police Force. We accepted the low level corruptions which did exist, the free sandwiches and cups of tea, dished out to officers on the beat, because we knew that they were doing a sometimes dangerous job for a relatively meagre salary. But we knew that those men, and it was overwhelmingly men who donned those dark blue uniforms and patrolled the streets of our towns and cities, armed only with a whistle, a truncheon, a widely-spread emergency telephone system and a reinforced helmet. No promotions to either higher ranks, or the (allegedly) cushier job of ‘detective’ came about until the officer concerned had pounded a beat for at least three or four years, and had learned who was ‘bent’ and who was not in their wider patch.
But the do-gooders became involved, and suddenly the victims of crime took second stage to the criminals, and prison became part of a ‘rehabilitation process’. This came along with the discovery that all that criminal activity wasn’t because scumbags were too lazy or too thick to do a proper job, but because they had been brought up in ‘Poverty’, and had therefore to be ‘understood’ rather than punished.
Further dilution of the Police process came about through the recruitment of ‘University Graduates’ whom were then fast tracked through the ranks. Further points were awarded if the recruit was Black or Asian, mainly because they were ‘underrepresented’ in the various ‘Services’, and therefore had to be promoted without that vital ‘Street’ experience. All sorts were welcomed into the Service, because really mixed-up people were also in seemingly short supply. For example we would never have seen a Ms Dick in the police, never mind promoted to the highest ranks. That same Dick whose ‘heavy mob’ had surrounded an unarmed bloke on a train: and were simply ordered to “Take the Shot”.
As a signal, let us take a brief look at present-day policing,which involves attempts by a bunch of anarchists to block high-speed motorways. Now the various Police areas have been given the power to arrest these eco-loons for Contempt of Court, and sling them inside for up to five years. What is actually done? They make sure none of these anarchists gets hurt by facilitating the traffic blocks, do arrest them: AND THEN RELEASE THESE CLOWNS TO GO BACK AND BLOCK ANOTHER MOTORWAY the very next day!
And then the questions emerge as to why a raging sex maniac was ever allowed near a Police Uniform, trusted to hold a gun, and even form part of a Diplomatic Protection Squad.
Trust!
The various Governments and Home Secretaries who implemented all those changes have demolished the basic trust which used to abound between the public and the Police, and it will take decades to repair; if ever.
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