How and why did things get so bad? It is not only about reductions in resources and increased demand, but also about how decisions are made about how to deploy those reduced resources.
For most of my services, I worked at Brighton and Hove where I served at every rank from PC to Chief Supervisor. When I arrived in the late ’80s, I was nominated for the Moulsecoomb crew car.
This was a particular challenge because the child double-murderer had recently come out for free and still lives near that estate. The blame fell on the police. In response to emergency calls, my partner and I found ourselves breaking fights and dragging miscreants in handcuffs.
Thank God for PC Eric Macintosh. Over the years the diminutive Mac has been so good a part of himself that he’s as much of the estate as any resident.
Despite his easy-going style, he didn’t stand any nonsense. At the time, Mac could only walk alone without fear around the streets of Molescombe. He was one man among the complex crime networks on the estate.
This bottom-up model for neighborhood police has succeeded. Every neighborhood in the country had a Mac, and they were told, “I hate the police but you’re fine.”
But because their value lies in deterrence and intelligence rather than arrests, they were easy choices when cuts were made. Crime has become more complex and police must catch up, but as the Belian Principles emphasize, to prevent crime by gaining public support, police need to work with their communities, not against them.
Police style of force is determined by the chief police officer, he is always an experienced officer who has spent time on the sharp end of the police. This leadership makes the difference – and until recently – operational independence was evident and jealously calibrated.
The introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in 2012 brought about a drastic change.
Replacing police powers, PCCs hold the chief constable accountable. But while policing must be accountable, there is a danger in a single elected individual with the power to appoint and dismiss the chief officer.
During the three CEC elections since their inception, the country has gone from having 12 independents (mostly former police officers) to being all party politicians. This does not mean that all PCs are slaves to their political masters. Not all of the blame for the state of the modern police should lie with them.
But with their political baggage, coupled with a lack of practical experience, is it any wonder that some choose headline-grabbing, and, dare I say, vote-winning initiatives?
Most of my time in Brighton I was shielded from political pressures. On either side of the local elections, when power shifted, I held my position and had major support to do so. I felt empowered to inculcate slow, long-running policing tactics that sought to reduce crime, strengthen neighborhoods, and maintain community trust.
All but the last few months have been before the PCCs, however.
My latest novel, Bad for Good, deals with what can happen when the police are so cut that vigilance takes over. I put it on in the near future but my former colleagues tell me that what I imagined is a real risk now.
The officers became social workers, counselors, and security guards. No wonder overall satisfaction is collapsing.
I don’t put all this on the doors of the police and crime commissioners. They have their budget and it should be divided as they see fit. What I’m saying is that politics and police simply do not mix. The days of a police chief calling operational shots, in some places, are sorted by sometimes irrelevant and counterproductive effects.
This takes the risk of focusing on the headlines, ignoring so-called “low-level” crime and chaos, and alienating the most vulnerable in society.
bad for good By Graham Bartlett (Allison & Busby, £16.99) Available now. For a free UK P&P and 10% off, call 020 3176 3832 or visit Expressbookshop.com.
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