It appears from this Tweet by Chancellor George Osborne, that he does not consider that our police service plays any role in relation to our national security.
It is clear that he and others simply fail to understand the vital importance of policing and in particular good old-fashioned community policing, in helping in the fight against terrorism.
The MI5 website advises us that the threat level is “Severe” meaning that an attack is “Highly Likely”. This isn’t scaremongering or to quote the Home Secretary Theresa May “Crying Wolf” it’s a reality.
Community policing is the foundation stone of British policing on which everything else has been built. Cuts have meant that police officers patrolling their beats have become a rare sight and with further slashing of budgets to come, by at least 25% I would advocate that the British Bobby should be added to the list of endangered species.
The loss of whole neighbourhood teams comes at a price, as vital links with communities and the trust built up over many years disappears. The “National Intelligence Model” which depends on information being fed in is in danger of collapsing as there aren’t the officers out there forging links so that people feel comfortable providing details of any suspicions that they might have.
We only have to look back to the 1960’s to see what happens when officers are taken from their beats and placed in cars. Contact with a whole generation was lost, the consequences of which are still rippling through policing today.
Providing a virtually anonymous ‘fire-brigade’ style service just isn’t going to work. It will further alienate the public as cops will mainly come into contact with them in conflict situations or whilst they are purely enforcing the law.
It’s also worth noting that some of the major terrorist foils have not been initiated by the security services, but have come about through people talking to their local Bobby raising concerns over suspicious or unusual behaviour they have observed.
Politicians and some senior police officers now view community policing as a luxury that we can no longer afford. I can’t emphasise strongly enough that destroying community policing is one of the greatest threats to our national security that the UK faces.
Those who try to raise legitimate concerns about the consequences of cuts are dismissed as “shroud wavers” by those who have no understanding of policing.
It really is time for some of our politicians to take the cotton wool from their ears, stuff it in their mouths and listen to those who know what they are talking about – rather than theorists in politically motivated think tanks. We need a properly resourced and realistically funded police service now – before it’s too late.
Clive Chamberlain
