Community policing?
Gazette and Herald
15th February 2007
www.gazetteandherald.co.uk
We read an interesting letter in Thursday's Gazette and Herald regarding Community
Policing and it airs some valid points regarding a Police presence and the interaction
of the force to restore confidence in the community. Lyneham, has been
fortunate to see more Police on the beat, we often see PC Jarra Brown walking
the village streets, interacting with the passers by and bringing a better and
safer place
to live.
Some
of
the
youths
have mentioned, they like him for his approach and respect in the way he listens
to the
younger
members of society. Hopefully this approach will bring positive results and reduce
the amount of anti-social behaviours witnessed over the last twelve months.
Community policing?
With reference to your article on police enquiry office closures (Gazette, February
8). Last year our council tax went up, nothing unusual about that. The police
had the biggest increase at 10 per cent - someone has to be the most expensive.
This year the police have quite a few BMW X5s, large four
wheel drive gas guzzlers'. The spokesman quoted on the subject
of closing enquiry offices says: "In some stations only
a couple of people a day ever call in." Each one of us
wants to be proud of our police - and often are. We like them
to have the best equipment - and they often do. We are quite
prepared to pay highly.
What we ask in return is results and that involves 'Keeping
Wiltshire Safe'. To do that, the police need intelligence'
and that means information. Have they asked why the public
don't go into some offices? Have some members of the public
found another way of giving information or have the police
lost the confidence of at least some of the public?
Maybe I know little of policing but I am aware of the fact
that most of the public want to have more visible police presence
on the street, more police contact, and not to have an office
in another town miles away.
We want the police as part of our community, not remote from
it. I'd venture to suggest that "being part of it" is
not only more pleasant for the police and more likely to give
us the sort of officers we will be happy with, it is absolutely
necessary if the police really want to 'Keep Wiltshire Safe'.
B Butterworth.
Kingsmanor Wharf.
Devizes |
