LONDON (AFP) - The police have become so cautious and fearful of being criticised that they no longer use their own judgement to solve 'genuine' crimes, according to a hard-hitting report by a senior police chief.
The government-commissioned report from Ronnie Flanagan, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, set out a wide range of proposals Wednesday to cut bureaucracy and improve neighbourhood policing in England and Wales.
In it, Flanagan said there is too much emphasis on recording and investigating minor crimes that the police fail to tackle the major crimes and deliver a good service to the local community.
The police chief urged the government and the criminal justice system to refocus on serious crime and other issues which matter to local communities.
"We risk diverting officers' priorities to recording crimes rather than getting out on the streets solving them and preventing them," he said.
"A more risk-averse society has led to a more risk-averse police service, which will at times over-record and under-deliver for fear of missing something or being vulnerable to criticism," he said.
Recommendations in the report include:
-- Allowing volunteers to become police community support officers on an unpaid basis to contribute to their communities.
-- Setting up "virtual courts" which allow offenders to be dealt with by magistrates by video link from police stations.
-- Speeding up adoption of mobile data technology such as palm-top computers.
-- Setting a target across the criminal justice system to cut red tape.
-- Encouraging Home Office agencies and other police groups to devise a set of standardised incident forms which could then be used across England and Wales.
-- Giving greater recognition to police officers who choose to stay in neighbourhood teams.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith agreed that wide scale changes were needed to make police "more effective" at fighting crime.
"Sir Ronnie's report sets out some clear steps to cut red tape and make the job of every police officer more effective in the fight against crime.
"Freeing up police time to devote to the frontline and to neighbourhood policing will make a real difference to every community," she said.
"Just from his proposal on case file management, we could save 400,000 hours of police time - that is the equivalent of 200 officers. I accept these recommendations.
"Sir Ronnie's proposals on the use of mobile data and virtual courts show how we can push the boundaries of 21st century crime fighting" , Smith added.
[sarcasm]What a surprise![/sarcasm]
I blame Adolf Blair, Randy Jacky Straw, David Blunder, Charles Cunt, Jock Beria Reid, Polly Toynbee and the rest of the PC brigade for introducing legislation against 'thought crimes', too much red tape and paperwork and rewarding criminals at the expense of both the innocent and the victims of crime.
They have all brought the police and criminal justice system into serious disrepute with their ideological poisons and power-hungry megalomania. Cunts!
