Dennis Benson

Theresa May reminds me of Mrs Fox, the lady-friend of Corporal Jones in Dad’s Army. Both ladies lack self understanding, both possess a touching faith in the ability of elderly volunteers to take over the world, form a committee, and be back in time for tea. Sadly the reality would probably be different.Whether it be make-believe soldiers or, in Theresa’s case, policemen the answer lies in organising the professionals properly rather than adding Captain Mannering and his men to the chaos.

I was pondering on this when I turned back from the ‘ 24/7 Electrics’ shop which was closed when I bumped into the son of a pal who happens to be a Bobbie. What did he think about the new plan to solve the problems of policing by recruiting thousands of Mr Godfreys? His comment was not polite but he went on to suggest that I read David Copperfield. Before I could head for the library he explained that DC is the pen-name of PC Stuart Davidson who, before he left for Canada, wrote an anonymous blog about modern policing and became something of a hero for all those who stagger under the weight of bureacracy.

Stuart’s tale is one that Ministers would do well to read. Based on his two-year experience as a Bobbie in Canada, Stuart believes that billions could be slashed from the UK police budget and actually improve policing. He now treads the beat in Alberta, Edmonton, and faces much the same crime as he faced here. He is slimmer as a result of compulsory fitness tests and the availablity of a gym and there are a number of other significant differences. He recalls that Greater Manchester Police employs 8,232 officers out of a total staff of 13,082 or one person for every 181 member of the public. Edmonton employs one person for every 526 members of the public. In Manchester only 50 per cent of the public consider the police to be doing a good job, in Edmonton it is 89. The rate of crime is broadly similar.

The Edmonton budget is £150 million or £150 per public member, Manchester’s is £690 million or £276 per public member. So with less money Stuart’s new force does a better job. How? He immediately points the finger at bureaucracy. When he worked in the UK and arrested, say, a man over a fight in a pub, it could easily take six hours to deal with, even if he admitted the offence. Central custody could be 20 miles away and when he reached it he had to book him in, wait for his solicitor, interview him on tape, fill in endless forms in longhand, duplicate the same information, fax it all to the CPS and wait until they confirmed that charges could be brought. In Edmonton, Stuart decides whether to charge after speaking by phone with his sergeant and, if he proceeds, decides on bail. There is no interview or notes, the arrested is given his chance to present his case in court.

All this is done while having regard for the proper rights of suspects; they get to talk to a lawyer over the phone and they have a right to complain. If so it is recorded on video. A Charter of Human Rights is written into Canadian law and is honoured. But Stuart is back on the streets within minutes of an arrest. And every member of the force devotes the majority of his or her time fighting crime and providing, by their constant presence on the streets, reassurance. There is a start-of-shift parade and Stuart was at first surprised to find that these are attended by senior officers who, unlike their British counterparts are very hands-on.

Apparently the use of computers in cars is way ahead of the Brit experience too. Stuart is able to switch on a real-time crime map detailing incidents, methods and likely suspects. And he can check vehicles, people, intelligence reports and make charges without returning to the station.

Start Davidson holds that British policemen are among the finest in the world which is why Canada has been so keen to recruit them. It is , he contends, just the system that lets them -and the public-down.His message to the Home Office is a simple one; cut the paperwork, sack the bureaucrats , free up the police  and then see what happens.

It all sounds very much as though, as with the NHS, the coalition government is creating mountains instead of scattering the molehills. Simply adding hordes of elderly volunteers to the present complicated routine will merely make the task of the regulars even more tedious and disheartening.

Give it a go Theresa and leave Corporal Jones to tend his allotment.!

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AND ANOTHER THING; The supposedly damaging revelations about miltary actions in Afghanistan that have occupied the greater part of The Guardian for two days are supposedly based on leaks and surrounded with warnings as to their accuracy. Be this as it may, the central thrust is that civilians have been killed needlessly. Since it is impossible to identify Taliban personnel from everyone else this is hardly surprising. As for the deaths, regrettable though they be, the authors should perhaps read Churchill’s memoirs covering World War 2. On many occasions British and American raids were carried out in the knowledge that bombs do not distinguish between military and civilian bodies or properties.

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AND YET ANOTHER THING;  I am sorry to report that Billy, one of the older members of our ferret-breeding society, has fallen ill. But his humour has not deserted him, yesterday he remarked that he had to get the problem in before Andrew Lansley transfers the acute medicine wards to Trust House Forte. He reports that the staff are absolutely brilliant and the nurses gorgeous (the latter observation suggests that he is not as ill as we feared). He also says that they regard the latest major reorganisation as something that won’t happen!

Gorgeous and overly optimistic it seems!

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