Labour's targets for fighting crime are about as much use as a chocolate fireguard

Water

Chocolate fire guard! Well their bound to suffer fire and brimstone sooner or later, at least it will be a sweet ending awww.

Adrian Drummond

I was stopped by a policeman a year ago on the pretext that I was not wearing a seatbelt. I most certainly WAS wearing one and didn't take too kindly to being accussed of not. I was livid that I then had to take in all my documents to the police station for inspection. I felt that I'd been stopped simply to meet a monthly target. I'm still furious thinking about it. A waste of time for the police and certainly a waste of time for me.

Max

According to David Craig Gordon Brown is spending £70 billion on management consultants. Some even occupy senior positions in the civil service.

I may be wrong, but I suspect that's the source of the target and tick box culture which pervades the public services.

Suggestions on what we could do to improve life in the UK with £70 billion?

Max

http://theerrorlog.blogspot.com/

David

Doesn't the broken windows method of policing require the police to focus just as much on petty crimes as serious ones?

Austin Barry

The police, or traffic enforcement officers as we should now call them, have been declining in "bottle" and common sense since the robust D.I. Jack Regan left the force 30 years ago. Just today, for example, I read that Sir Hugh Orde, the PSNI's Chief, currently being touted as a successor to the Met's lamentable Chief social worker, Sir Ian Blair, believes we should talk to Al-Qaeda. Which means that he doesn't understand the basic tenets of Islamic Jihad and works from the premise of appeasement (see Northern Ireland). Not encouraging, but no doubt he will be too pre-occupied with revenue-enhancing speed traps to concern himself with preventing murder and mayhem.

Ian

"If police chiefs had to stand for election and re-election it would force them to concentrate on the crimes that most bother the public"

In other words they would be forever chasing the latest local panic story: pederasts (or maybe paediatricians?) one week; hoodies the next; and all police leave cancelled every time there is a murder. Do we really want this? By all means get rid of the stupid target culture, but allow the local chief constables to use resources according to their professional judgement rather than populist sentiment.

Progressive Perry

It’s all down to the pragmatic Art Of The Possible, thus saving perleece time ‘n effort. For instance :

It IS possible to photographically identify and fine a fully paid up and insured legit. member of the public for travelling at 36 mph in a 30 mph zone. It is not possible to do the same to a drunken yob in a stolen car doing 70 mph –unless he’s stupid enough to be caught.

It IS possible to catch and prosecute a loved and cared-for young child for innocent ‘racial’ crime. It is not possible to pre-empt a bullying attack on an elderly person ‘cos they (the perpetrators) ‘aint dun nuffin yet.

You see? . . it’s all so easy when you think PROGRESSIVELY!

Fergus Pickering

How does it work in the US? Is their policing better or worse than ours? I don't know but somebody must.

Austin Barry

Ian.. That's not Sir Ian is it? Your post would suggest it is, and if so may I belatedly congratulate you on your commendable efforts to reduce overcrowding on the tube by assassinating its passengers.

Verity

4:26 Hello, Fergus Pickering. I know because I lived in the US for a number of years as an adult and I was partly brought up there.

It works because that man (there may be some women chiefs these days, although I don't know of any) is in his job at the pleasure of the voter. If he doesn't perform up to their expectations, he's updating his cv at the end of his term.

The Texas city in which I lived had a magnificent police force. Response time was around four minutes and if the despatcher thought it was warranted, a helicopter was also sent. The goal: catching criminals and keeping the population safe. Something along the lines of Iain Blair would never have got in and would never even have got the nomination of his party.

Ian writes, in a pararaph shrieking of provincialism and naiveté: "In other words they would be forever chasing the latest local panic story: pederasts (or maybe paediatricians?) one week; hoodies the next; and all police leave cancelled every time there is a murder."

I won't comment on the toe-curling embarrassment of this offering.

At the same time, the county sheriff is also an elected position and he, too, gets up every day well aware that he has to fulfill the expectations of the taxpayers in order to hang onto his job at the next election. Taxpayers want criminals caught and they want the police to have a good enough case to prevail in court.

Finally, city fire chiefs are also elected positions.

Competition at the ballot box for all these positions is fierce, and the ones who win the posts are usually people prepared to give 100 per cent and it does not enter their heads to try to hammer political correctness or lessons and lectures to the public onto their mission. An effective police chief will be voted back in with enthusiasm.

Diversity

Ridiculous nonsense! You cannot est, nor if it melts drink, a Labour crime target. Chocolate fireguards are far more useful.

Austin Barry

Looking at a police force tyrannised by paperwork and targets and adherence to social engineering policies, it's no wonder that it is inept and ineffectual. It reminds me of Joe Orton's Inspector Truscott (of the Yard) in "Loot" who, frustrated beyond despair by a posturing yob, barks the immortal line, "How dare you involve me in a situation for which no memo has been issued!"

Hysteria

Verity - I am currently working and living in Texas (Houston) and I completely agree - local elections (devolved democracy if you like) works - elect the Sheriff, prosecutor and the judges like they do here and guess what - bad guys get locked up.!

Ian - It is not just populist chasing the theme of the day - the voters don't get to vote for crime of the week!

London Calling

A Chocolate Fudge comes to mind...

The problem with throwing money at resolving crime is that you better wet your finger first and check wind direction...

Someone’s pockets got lined, but we didn’t get the full suit...

3 Million for a mock up crime watch U.K. knife attack, poor quality filming, just to give it that real time projection and what did the youth on the street say after watching it?

"Na....nobodies gonna watch it or take notice, it just aint street enough"

A government out of touch?

How about Buzz light years away...

If this government wants to tackle crime, then they should talk to the youth and ask them for advise.....

Fergus Pickering

Well, it appears from this post that the US model works. Let's do it, therefore. Isn't the great Boris for it? Can he twist Dave's arm? He's big enough. The trounle is British snobbery insists we have nothing to learn from the United States and prefers to look to Europe. But many European police forces are quite absurd, the Italians for nstance, who lock themselves into their own police stations and will not investigate anything until you have filled in a form which you have to BUY at a newsagent. Quite New Labour that, don't you think?