When Sir Robert Peel established the Metropolitan Police back in 1829, he wrote a set of nine principles that are as apt and relevant to policing today as they were nearly 200 years ago. Modern police leaders often don’t like being reminded of these, because they clearly show the utter uselessness of the services that they lead, no more so than the final principle, which states; ‘To recognise always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder…’
Britain has never been a crime-free nirvana, but if we use this Peelian Principle as a benchmark by which to judge the current state of policing, then with crime rampant in just about every corner of the nation, it is fair to say that our police services and constabularies are a failing collective of rampant inefficiency.
Peter Bleksley warned against cutting front line officers
GB News
Their highly paid bosses will tell you differently of course, but they’re fooling no one.
Once upon a time, when the idiotic Theresa May was butchering police numbers, while insisting that the police could do more with less, chief constables, the Police Federation and others had some justification in warning that her cuts would have consequences, and sadly they very much did.
Crime went up, conviction rates went down, experienced officers flocked towards the exit door, and we all became a bit less safe.
A few years later Boris Johnson tried to repair May’s lunatic damage by pledging to recruit 20,000 new officers, but the valuable policing experience that had been lost could never be replaced.
And now, with echoes of the recent past ringing in my ears, the issue of cuts to policing budgets has raised its ugly head once again.
This week the Met announced that they are cutting 1,700 police, civilian staff, and community officer jobs because the Government and the London Mayor cannot, or will not, give Britain’s biggest police service the cash that it claims it needs.
Only this week I saw evidence of a group of well-meaning Detective Sergeants having a whip-round to pay for an experienced and highly regarded former flying squad officer, to come into a police station in order give a talk to trainee detectives on how to deal with stroppy and obstructive legal representatives, who delight in earning a living by trying to get guilty people off the hook.
Such basic training should form a part of every new officer’s policing education, but the lamentable College of Policing will tell you that they know best.
On the other hand, I unfortunately hear tales of bone-idle agency staff hired by the Met taking the mickey, and needless departments that deal with so much of the blatantly obvious and the unnecessary, that they could be abolished and hardly anyone would notice that they’ve disappeared.
Meanwhile, these latest cuts mean that the Royal Parks department is to be scrapped, along with some units that deal with serious and organised crime.
There will be less police horses to keep unruly demonstrators and football hooligans in order, and less highly trained police dogs who are very adept at taking chunks out of burglar’s trousers. If you can hear laughter as you read this, it will be coming from the mouths of criminals, not dedicated cops.
Where London leads, others will follow, so if you live outside of the capital, please don’t think that this will not affect you.
In the meantime, wherever you live, be sure to protect your home with cctv which includes a doorbell camera, an alarm, movement sensor operated lighting, robust doors, and windows, and more.
Get a steering lock for your car, a tracker, and an immobiliser, and maybe a post in your driveway. Take great care when you venture out, taking sensible precautions as you go.
Don’t have sleepless nights, and don’t curtail any legal activity that makes you smile, but always be aware that crime is climbing, while the police are declining.
Stay safe.
