Visionary Thinking
So, some police forces are going to allow their officers to use "common sense" to make their decisions and not base them around whether there will be a tick in the box for an easy detection.
The BBC News article on the matter says, "Four police forces are to abandon government targets and allow officers to decide whether to make arrests. The "common-sense approach" being tried by the Surrey, Leicestershire, West Midlands and Staffordshire forces has been welcomed by the Home Office".
Doubtless, if any good does come of this trial the government will hail it as a fresh, new, creative approach to law & order & policing & will want to retire to the lawns of Whitehall for tea & medals all round. What they won’t do is admit that the policies & procedures implemented by them have been a complete & abject failure. They won’t say either that this is exactly the way we used to police until they came in & f***ed it all up (as usual).
Has anyone noticed any similarity between their announcement of a new, visionary style of policing called ‘neighbourhood policing’ & this latest effort to claw back any shred of popularity & votes which may exist out there, somewhere (far away, presumably)?
Surely, to welcome this ‘common sense approach’ is an admission of the failure of the ‘non common sense approach’?
NightJack says:
The Home Office know in their hearts that N.C.R.S. has turned out to be a charter for martinets and the green biro brigade rather than a way of making sure that “The Man” has to give everyone a fair shake of the stick.
This pilot is to see if they can give us back some discretion without losing that feeling of control.
From some responses back on my blog, I get the feeling that it will be an attempt to tinker with N.C.R.S. by using Restorative Justice for non criminal record disposals.
Sadly, most everyone has already bought into long term contracts for N.C.R.S. compliant Command & Control systems.
June 1st, 2008 at 8:16 pm
some bloke says:
Is this a Revolution from below, ie 4 CCs telling the weakened Government to stuff their target based Policing or is it a coup from above whereby the Government is hoping to divert the publics attention from its’ weakness by offering ” bread and circuses ” Popular Policing ?
In either case, when will the other Forces follow ?
June 1st, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Twining or Black in Blue says:
This is no revolution. The HO are aware of these trials.
June 2nd, 2008 at 12:20 pm