A few thoughts time to step up …. 04\10\2018
For some time we have known of the budget cuts applied to our hard working Police Teams and the overriding effect this has on their already strained ability to undertake the tasks presented to them in every shift. The Police Officers role is now so diverse and includes so many areas not normally expected of a law enforcement Officer this is a fact.
Be under no illusions the financial cuts the Police forces of this country are currently being railroaded into accepting, has already and will continue to affect our Policing standards. If the public were made aware of the current numbers of Police officers being turned out on patrol, in certain areas and at certain times of the day, they would be astonished and frightened. Our local Police team here in Dorset although up against these cuts have managed to maintain a very high standard of community care and response to incidents. This in my opinion is down to quite frankly hard work and dedication from these outstanding officers, supported by the PCSO team who are equally as professional in all they do. Obviously no Police force is ever going to tell you the true number of officers on patrol because criminals would use it to their advantage. Given time, what would happen is criminals and troublemakers will slowly become more aware there are much fewer Police about and their response to an incident is much slower. Can we let this happen? In my view we cannot, but how do we get this across to the decision makers who think up these very silly moves to cut budgets? There are huge savings to be made in other areas without penny pinching our Police budgets, charity begins at home, and home is the UK think about that! As one who is part of a great team I see a lot that goes on, the biggest failures I see is the lack of engagement by the public in support. There are so many things the public can do to help prevent crime. The public also have a duty to do all they can to protect themselves and property.
The coming weeks will see a gradual increases in crime in our area as well as others around the country I’ll wager, Christmas is coming and that’s a sure fire sign money is needed. I suspect that there may well be increases in robberies like off-licences, shops and post offices, burglaries in rural areas and thefts of items like tools, plant, and equipment from construction sites. Be on the lookout, be vigilant, do not leave it to chance, see it report it, help the Police in any way you can. Anything you do, any information you pass on 101 or 999 (in an emergency only) the help you give goes a long way to taking some of the pressure off these over stretched officers. Police forces like ours here in Dorset are being stretched but be assured their operational resilience is not getting weaker, one fact is for sure it is becoming highly likely that one day an emergency call will take longer than it should for a response, and I need to be very clear it is not their fault. Most of you know me what I do how I stand up for our guys and gals and right now the public must step up and do all they can to support these incredible Officers.
“Supporting the Blue”
JG