Real Policing in Britain

To: The Home Secretary

Ms. Jacqui Smith, MP.
Home Office,
Direct Communications Unit,
2 Marsham Street,
London.
SW1P 4DF.

Dear Ms. Smith.

We the undersigned members of the public of Great Britain hereby declare our dissatisfaction with target driven policing methods and excessive government bureaucracy which has left our streets devoid of a regularly visible police presence. Decent, law-abiding citizens are afraid to walk the streets of their own country for fear of becoming a victim of crime.

We believe that the abolition of the ‘beat bobby’ has contributed strongly to public fear as the lack of a visible police presence provides the opportunity for crime to take place. We shall hold the Home Office to account for the re-introduction of uniformed officers on foot patrol in conjunction with officers on mobile patrol. We believe this to be the way to ensure the safety of our streets, drive down crime and overcome widespread public concern and mistrust.

We denounce excessive bureaucracy and paperwork which ensures our police officers spend more time in the station than on our streets. We expect the volume of paperwork to be either reduced or completed by designated others, such as police community support officers (PCSOs) or civilian staff. We similarly denounce target driven policing which is bringing the police into disrepute with the public and again undermining trust.

We do not expect PCSOs to provide our front-line policing whilst regular uniformed officers remain confined to their stations or chasing quick detections in order to satisfy performance criteria. We expect the role of the PCSO to be supportive in the return to our streets of regular uniformed officers.

Trust is indeed the bedrock of policing. Our trust deserves better and therefore we require you to acknowledge the will of the people and bring about a return to sensible, traditional policing methods.

Sincerely,