On 5 Jan 2012 at 1:15am Paul Kersey wrote:
The police are mainly to be found nowadays sitting in a car in a supermarket (Normally Tesco) waiting for their colleague to come out with their lunch. They then drive back to the newly built and closed to the public police station where they eat their lunch. They then re-enter the police car which they then drive around the one way system in Lewes occasionally diverting to the Esso station for a coffee.This is repeated daily. The only diversion to this is on a Friday and Saturday night, they then sit outside Lincolns and the Charcoal grill goading youngsters into commiting public order offences. This means they can then be off the street again and at a custody suite with their dangerous offender.
It is with a big lump in my throat that I say good riddance to Chief Inspector Natalie Maloney. She has distanced an already distant Police force from the people in the county town even further. Lets hope her replacement is up to the job of putting these public servants back on the street (On foot) and utilising them wisely.
Where are the old style police that knew the people in the town they worked in and actually cared about the place.
On 5 Jan 2012 at 10:19am DFL wrote:
Oh dear, are they really that lethargic ? Must admit I haven't seen too many of the boys in blue since I moved here, perhaps we should get the new boss to put a few bobbies back on the streets ?
On 5 Jan 2012 at 10:37am jrsussex wrote:
At a verbal discussion on this thread with some friends of mine an interesting point was raised, the dress of our police force. What happened to the smartly dressed street copper, uniform with white shirt, tie and polished boots/shoes? With the type of uniform now worn adorned with the paraphernalia they have to carry they do look as if they are off to attack the Iranian embassy. The conclusion of the discussion was that the old style uniform was much friendlier to the public eye.
On 5 Jan 2012 at 1:09pm Southover Queen wrote:
That's because it's now a requirement for all police forces to wear clothing which prevents or at least deflects attacks on them, such as stab jackets I think, jrs.
I'd like to see police officers on foot but I suspect the answer will be that it would limit how they respond to incidents outside of their immediate area, and to do it you'd need considerably more personnel. On balance I'd rather have two coppers turn up quickly in a car than wait for half an hour while someone strolling round Malling gets to me here.
Also, while they are marginally more visible in a smaller area there must be a question about whether that actually has a real effect on crime. I suspect that it doesn't and the effect is psychological.
On 5 Jan 2012 at 1:52pm Clifford wrote:
You're right, Southover Queen, research has shown that the bobby on the beat has no real impact on crime rates. However, I wouldn't underestimate the psychological importance the regular sight of a copper patrolling has on the non-criminals among us (i.e. the vast majority). All law enforcement is a bit of a psychological trick and if a bobby on the beat makes us feel more secure then there should be more bobbies on the beat. After all, we pay for them.
On 5 Jan 2012 at 2:13pm jrsussex wrote:
You both put valid points which I do not disagrre with. I do support Clifford's comment that, for whatever reason, the sight of a police officer, to law abiding people, is re-assuring and gives one the feeling of being "looked after".
On 5 Jan 2012 at 3:57pm NOT a police officer wrote:
Can i just say that the phrase "police force" is not really politically correct and we should call them the "police service"
On 5 Jan 2012 at 4:38pm bastian wrote:
or why not call them police servents as other members of the public service are now known, it gives people the right to treat them like crap, that's how it is these days.
On 6 Jan 2012 at 8:26am DFL wrote:
When did they change from Force to Service then ? Perhaps they should be known as our "police colleagues" ? That's sounds nice and friendly.
SQ has a very good point re resources and incident response, but, surely there must be a "master plan" that has been drawn up by our "colleagues" to have X resource for incident response and Y resource for patrols etc., and no doubt some form of rotation in there somewhere. If the boys in blue are reading this, could they post their current service plan here please ?
On 7 Jan 2012 at 1:24pm impartial wrote:
Just out of interest, do u know how many officers work out of lewes on a shift?
On 7 Jan 2012 at 2:46pm The Boy Bernie wrote:
I have never seen a policeman on the beat in Lewes in over ten years and only time I see them out of a car is at Tesco or bonfire night.
On 8 Jan 2012 at 9:31pm oilbarron wrote:
All the beat work in Lewes is being done by the traffic wardens.
On 8 Jan 2012 at 9:50pm Deelite wrote:
Has to ever struck anyone that the police are just to plain scared to police the streets nowadays?
On 9 Jan 2012 at 6:23am not a police officer wrote:
For what reason Deelite ? If you think it's because of fear of being attacked etc then no. If you think it's for fear of being targeted for political correctness or having their hands tied due to soft bosses, judges and general red tape, then yes.
On 10 Jan 2012 at 11:30am Stop, get out. wrote:
Tricky area this, however, try this on for size.
In my very few dealings with the police, I have generally found them to be, sarcastic, intimidating, rude, thick, would-have-been-criminals-were it-not-for-a-lucky-break, complaining, insensitive and flaky.
I have three very close friends who work at Sussex police, they seem to have huge amounts of free time and very high salaries. They are also among the most reliable and friendly people I know.
What gives?