The streets around my neighbourhood seem more frightening this year than last year. I have to say I've never seen a police officer patrolling my area - where are they? On my walk home I'm hassled & harassed by gangs of kids, I've had friends mugged for their mobile phones, attacked & stabbed - it's an awful experience just walking home from work. And to Thomas from London - your attitude disgusts me. You say you live in the Ghetto - I live in the poorest borough of London, and I'm sick to death of kids complaining about the lack of opportunity - the council practically throws money at them & their lazy lay-about families, there are loads of job opportunities for young people in my area - I'm tired of paying high taxes to support these young people who - as I see on my walk home - hang about high, drunk, doing nothing, not going to school, mugging for the heck of it. Get a grip & grow up Thomas. It's about time people started taking responsibility for their own lives.

Kate , London,

To add support to the viewpoints favouring aggressive policing (T.Walker) and a pro-active citizenry (Joe): A.V. Dicey’s Appendix IV of his “Law of the Constitution” (8th Ed. 1915) describes how it was the legally-bound duty of ALL British subjects to stop the commission of a felony and prevent a felon from escaping. This meant two things: 1) all subjects were effectively part-time policemen (Sir Robert Peel: “…the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”); 2) while minimum force was desired, ANY injury, including lethal, incurred by a felon resisting arrest or attempting flight was legally justified. This was a major factor in our then low crime rate. But it didn’t result in endless brutality: crims knew the score and, caught, usually made it very obvious that they were neither attempting resistance or flight (“It’s a fair cop, guv”).

DGH, Fife,

In reply to the lefty whinge from thomas: “fundamental causes … poverty … palaces and mansions”: The facts do not support this; as Desmond Taylor wrote below, “If this were so, then during the Depression the crime statistics should have been off the wall!”

Recorded Crime Statistics 1898-2004/05 are available here: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/100years.xls

The rise in crimes from 1929-39 was remarkable only for its lowness compared to recent decades, and taking into account the increase in population, the rise was negligible. Turn the figures into charts, and the numbers meander along the bottom, decade after decade, through the hard years of the Depression, starting to rise in the ’50s, steeper in the ’60s, and completely off the wall from the ’70s onwards.

Comrade thomas! Poverty is not an excuse. Ponder the irony of complaining about living “in the ghetto” in a post to an online forum: computer? internet connection? It’s not exactly living in a cardboard box.

DGH, Fife,

From The Times April 5, 2007

The slide into invisibility must be arrested
Our columnist on a radical shake-up for the police Camilla Cavendish
The reason I have pasted this whole lot is, I saw the TV and the securities that have been placed in the streets by the Police in UK. I saw some cell phones stolen and some muggers and Police hitting some one but the face of both was marred.
Now that you have a peaceful city what is the problem. I looked at the scenes. TV SKY stated this is an exercise that is carried out since last fifteen days. Now give them chance 15 days is too short. Then police will get tired and more cell phones stolen. They are so cute that even I would like to pocket one. Say how about the Nokia 9500

Firozali A.Mulla MBA PhD, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanania

I see that some of the problem in UK policing comes from those who supposedly desire protection. I am pro-agressive policing. That brings a comment from "k" in Brighton that I am an apologist for police brutality. Shades of Rodney King!. If police move to control the streets, people like "k: object. Wake up, "k". Criminals are not nice middle class people who happened to make a mistake. They are brutal predators. Policing is a hard, dangerous profession. Criminals aren't playing. I went to a double funeral last Saturday--two officers were gunned down on a domestic call. Then Sunday, two officers in a city not far away were killed while answering a disturbance call. Wagging a finger at criminals and saying "naughty, naughty" is not effective, "k." In dealing with criminals, many times the use of force is necessary. That may mightily offend "k's" politically correct sensibilities, but it is a fact of life. Police high visibility is no good if not backed up with action.

Terry Walker, Ladson, S.C. / USA

We in America are shaking our heads in bewilderment at what has become of Britain. Political Correctness is killing you off at an ever increasing rate. If you possess firearms, you are a citizen, if you do not, you are a subject. Is it not apparent to you all by now that the police are not up to the job of protecting you? Do any of you feel safer now that you have had all of your legal firearms taken away? Did you really think the criminals were going to give up their firearms? What do you do now? How long until the government comes for your knives? Sticks? Fingernails? Better wake up, England - it may already be too late.

Jim Lay, Blue Hill, Maine, U.S.A.

I agree with all the responses, I like the article too.! Raising police morale is the answer. Getting stupid 60's attitudes to criminals is another answer. If the law is not applied, then it is no longer law, but " guidelines".. The recent idea of releasing rapists and killers is one of those " guidelines". Respect for the law is paramount. Example, in this city we have 500,000 illegals..Our police can not ask anyone their legal status!. We have a crime problem-suprise. Next, pure 60's attitude. We have 100,000 Katrinas here. Zero social responsiblities due to none in New Orleans. We have a special police squad to look after them. They cannot be blamed, they are ' victims". Does this sound familiar?

Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Texas

Cops aren't there to protect you but merely to catalog the occurence and try to catch the perpetrators. Too bad your government has taken away your right to protect yourself - your right to bear arms.

Don't like it? There's always plenty more room for upstanding citizens in Texas.

Chris, San Antonio, TX

You say, "...killings by strangers have increased by a third between 1997 and 2005." That's no surprise to me. 1997 was the exact year guns were banned in your country. As to the dropping crime rate in the USA, it goes down where the citizens have armed themselves.

Jeff Friedberg, Albuquerque, NM

You might look at statistics of before and after the confiscation of privately held firearms in Britain. Now only the criminals are armed, and they do not have to worry about encountering armed victims.

Mark Goldstone, Minneapolis, MN

Mr Blaber,
Your ignorance is staggering - and as a serving Police Officer in Britain, I have both a good standard of education and work tirelessly to do a good job despite the system which effectively conspires against our overall effectiveness. Conversely, I recently spoke to an Australian who told me most Australians view all Police there as being corrupt. Clearly, I am not so narrow minded as to take this literally - but as for being over paid, the Police's pay and conditions in this country continue to be erroded by successive governments to reduce overall costs. But for what we actually have to deal with; the pay is ok but we're hardly overpaid. But I'll remember that next time as happened recently when I'm trying to arrest a crack addict for robbery, who in resisting and repeatedly trying to bite me and later transpired to be HIV Positive...

Pete, London,

In our town last week two men clearly dealing drugs. Round the corner I passed a policeman.I informed him that this was taking place and he would be able to question and ,if an unlawful transaction was taking place, make an arrest.
He informed me that "No way" would he approach these two on his own. I suggested je called for support. He smiled,turned round and walked back the way he had come.
I presume his response would have been the same if an assualt was taking place. I agree with the assumption of youths carrying knives for protection because no one else will .

Rod Buckle, Filey, North Yorks

The police are not the problem. Citizens who have forsaken their responsibility for their own safety and placed that responsibility on the police, that is the problem. The root problems are socialism and gun control. Get rid of those and crime will drop like a rock.

Randy Shaw, Phoenix, USA

Re: The extraordinary decline of crime in big American cities in the 1990s should be a reason for optimism about policing.

Didn't some American states introduce 3 strikes and your out, such that on a third offence someone gets 'life' that actually means life (unlike a life sentence in the UK) ? If so, couldn't it be that the decline of crime in some big American cities is in part due to persistent offenders being in prision - for life.

John, London,

I whole heartedly agree that we in the UK should elect our police cheifs. The crimes people care about are not the crimes that the police seem to be spending time and money tackling. People do not want gangs of hoodies wandering the streets, an officer who ran for an election on a platform of removing them would be judged on how well he accomplished this.

Moreover 'victimless' (read drugs) crime needs to be approached, it is pointless that criminal activities are being funded by otherwise law abiding citizens who are fully aware of the risks of drug taking yet continue to do it anyway. By legalising drugs it will free up a significant proportion of police time and perhaps the revenue so generated can be used to help addicts whose drug habbits (so statistics tell us) mean that they account for more crime than almost any other group.

Robert McGuiness, London, London

The sad truth is that most British Police (no all) I have dealt with do not appear to be very bright and I believe to do the Job because they have no real qualifications to do anything else. They are in effect Lazy and overpaid!

Ian Blaber, Brisbane, Australia

I would like to address the fundamental causes of the rising crime in london. First of all, the gap between the rich and the poor is immensely widening. There are not any job opportunities being avaliable to schooll or even college graduates. This is particularly the case for the young people from different backgrounds. And the only way they can earn their lives is by mugging, stealing and drug-traficcing. Thanks to our government for not giving any hope to many people like me living in the ghetto. I guess this is the cost we suffer as a result of free-market driven politics and aristocrats. While they are enjoying lives in the palaces and mansions, we, in the ghettos, lack the basic human needs such as shelter, security and food. Thanks to capitalist thoughts and advocates.

thomas, London,

Part of the problem for today's police is what is required of them. So many police officers spend so much of their time talking in schools or community centres and attending local council meetings/community forums/public meetings. Police officers are expected to be everyone's friend while maintaining some air of importance. There is a difference between being respected and being really liked and known. Police forces today, with the introduction of neighbourhood policing, are trying to get their officers liked. However, if you get to know officers, you find out that many don't respect their own position too much. This is no disincentive for potential criminals.
Instead, it should be those who can only 'paper-shuffle' (eg those on restricted duties, or civilians) who should be attending meetings, so that valuable time is not wasted by officers who could be patrolling and be visible to a larger amount of the community.

Helen Bowles, Coventry,

This is a product of Socialism (aka Political Correctness). You can easily solve the problem. Start voting against the Socialists who are slowly strangling you. Read Von Mises, Hayek, and Friedman and get educated on what Liberty really means, and get back control over your society. Otherwise you will be facing this and a whole lot worse in the future. Orwell was not kidding.

catotheelderii, ny, usa

Recently, I did jury service for the first time. The issue: 3 drunken young men allegedly attacked a friend in the street resulting in one broken nose. My experiences?
I was shocked at the contempt my fellow jurors (mainly middle-class) expressed for the police due to previous unhappy experiences with them.
Each defendant was separately represented by his own barrister at the taxpayer's expense, the case took over a fortnight and cost (as estimated by us jurors - we had plenty of time to check our arithmetic) well in excess of 100,000 pounds. The jury took 10 minutes to reach its verdict. None of the defendants had ever been employed and had a long string of similar, petty offences to his name. Non-custodial sentences were handed out. The victim applied for compensation from the state for his injuries.
Defendants and victim left the court together and went to the pub.

Patrick, London, UK

It's amazing how the media just refuses to look at facts. This author wants to imply nobody really knows why crime dropped in the USA during the 90's. Gee, golly, more policing? Tougher laws? WRONG!!!!!

Many abroad don't know, but gun control almost completely died in America in 2000. There were mountains of studies conducted as to why the crime dropped in the 90's and all credible studies pointed to 1 main factor: More Guns in the hands of citizens = less crime. The gun control nuts were proven absolutely wrong. The emotional plee they tried to sell to dolts was torn apart. Thank God.

You want to solve your crime problem? Make criminals afraid of common citizens. Make them so afraid that if they are caught commiting a crime against a person, the criminals are HAPPY when the police show up!!!

It's not prisons, it's not police, it's not courts. Sorry, but you can't throw money at a crime problem and hope for a solution, it's time you take individual responsibility.

Joe, USA,

A change in racial demographics, like it or not, is one cause of the increasing crime in Europe, and I remember the days when England and France raised their noses at American prejudice and crime. Of course, Europe was sooooo much more enlightened! And things stayed that way as long as the only non-white Europeans around were musicians, athletes, and the occasional servant. No, threat there. Well, now look what's happening. A naive view of crime, the dynamics of prejudice, and the social changes needed to meet the problems of a changing and multiracial society have resulted in a dangerous escalation of crime and racist violence in both countries. Now that you have to deal with a dynamic, multicultural, and multiracial society in which the differences between rich and poor, black and white, christian and muslim, etc., can lead to disaster, welcome aboard!!! We have our problems and we're not always successful in meeting them, but maybe you can learn something from us after all.

Clany Soileau, Cut Bank, Montana, USA

I'm a criminal defense lawyer, but whilst I have no use for my clients behavior, yet I have learned a lot from them. Quite a few of commentors hit or came very close to the heart of the matter. The answer lies in the polity. In much of the US political demogogues (and they're all the same everywhere) have been getting reelected on strong, sometimes absurd, "get tough on crime" campaigns. They fall all over each other, not to mention the constitution, to get the fear vote.
When our Brit cousins decide they've had enough, start electing some hard-minded "get tough" demogogues and your criminals, like my clients, will soon get the message.

Further, this applies to criminals of every stripe, including perhaps a third of international leaders.

The problem and the solution are in your hands. Go vote.

Richard H. Jack, Athens, GA, USA

The BBC seems to promote socialism. Is it possible England will become the enemy of the United States in 20 years? Will England become another socialist France or has it already happened? What of Europe? Is anyone getting getting fed up with socialsts and communists trying to take over government and dumb down our furure? Is freedom too much a task? The United States has Hillary, a devout socialist. This looks like a worldwide situation. The internet will bond those who want responsibility and achievement (radio examples already exist) fighting liberal socialist who want the mass dumbing down of society through teachers unions, mass media, control of health care and bloated government. Socialists will first insure children, then encompass all of us by law. That is not freedom. It's economic communism. How many of you will live happily under dictatorship? WHO PUT THIS PHILOSOPHY IN OFFICE? Time to stop it.

Ken, Detroit, Michigan USA

Yea, let's follow the American model and arm ourselves- there were approx. 30,000 gun deaths in the US, in the UK about 300, in a country with a population of about a fifth.

Peter, Boston, USA

London is a toilet, just like the rest of England. Why? Overpopulation and massive pressure on infrastructure and public utilities, huge numbers of legal and illegal immigration and the associated lack of social cohesion. There is really not any 'Londoners' just an itinerant population there to exhaust finite resources like a plague of locusts and ready to move on to the next host. No ideas about belonging to part of a wider community beyond their own racial or economic identity. the loss of security and safety is the obvious result. The UK is the perfect illustration of how badly a country can be governed. Britain should be placed alongside Yugoslavia and its ilk as a failed state.

derek, sydney, aus

I'm with the chap who said, "what are police?" I live in a city and move around on a daily basis and I also live opposite a police college. It was probably over six months ago that I saw a uniformed police officer walking along the road. We need to look after ourselves there isn't anybody else to do it.

judy, Liverpool, england

My niece, who is a senior teacher in a local comprehensive school, was having severe problems with a disruptive pupil. After a long period when other members of the teaching staff intervened, it was felt necessary to call the police. On the arrival of a police officer, the pupil did not attempt to restrain her unacceptable and threatening behaviour. The staff looked at the police officer but got no reaction. He explained that in order to meet government targets, which needed to show a reduction in youth problems, officers in the local force were instructed to avoid any such cases and the officer departed, somewhat shamefaced.

The sad truth is that policing is always potentially a politically incorrect activity. “Liberal” politicians will always run away from it, seeking sociological diversions or burying it in bureaucracy. It is just hard luck on the people.

D Barfield, Greater Manchester, England

Moaning about the police this, the justice system that, misses the point. Unless we take responsibility for bringing up our children and not delegate this task to a TV set, we cannot point a finger. We must stop denouncing advocates of moral values as bigoted fundamentalists. Can we expect safe streets if paying taxes is a higher moral than the life of an unborn child. Morality (the concept of right and wrong) is objective, and our deviance from this path is now bearing rotten fruit. Our failure to bring to account those who dare to speak in our name has brought us to the brink. Do we deserve better when our media and political classes have justified inflicting violence on the streets of Iraq and Palestine? We cannot see the suffering we inflict on others, yet we see a threat in anything that does not conform to our relative “morality” which we impose on cultures that so courageously protect the only cornerstone of a truly moral society: the traditional family.

Marek, Warsaw,

As long as the socialist politically correct do-good types who run governments think that criminals have more rights than citizens or policemen, as long as they live in rich safe neighbourhoods, as long as they drive to work rather than take public transit, and as long as they send their children to safe private schools, nothing will change.

England has gone to socialist multicultural hell. Decades of destructive social policy are coming home to roost. And the worst, by far, is yet to come. A generation is growing up now who have no regard for Britain as a nation, English history, and Judeo-Christian values of decency and civility.

The worst is yet to come.

Gary, Toronto, Canada

As a former police officer I can say that the police are ineffective. This is not (generally) because thay are lazy but because they are prevented from policing by bureaucracy.
I was expected to submit 5 pieces of self-generated work (ie: giving a motorist a ticket, a stop and search form) per shift. I worked in the city centre and inner city of one of the largest cities in England where 'real' work was always available and which I preferred.
I refused to submit the required 5 pieces of self generated work and got in trouble at the end of every shift, but I still refused because I felt I was doing what I joined to do: protecting the public, not complying with targets.
After a year, my position became untenable and I resigned. I couldn't take the bureaucracy and felt that the police's priorities were totally wrong and I didn't want to be part of an organisation that was incapable of change.
That is the true state of the police force.

John, Nottingham, UK

I have found the comments from your readers most thought provoking. Yes.... what a sad bunch of pen pushing bureaucrats we have become. Politicians give it lots of Jaw Jaw and then retreat to their comfortable, private, gated and walled houses.

I would like to propose a new law that forces politicians live for a period of at least three months in most crime ridden ward of their constituency. That Law would cause lots of toilet flushing in the House of Westminster! If our Law making executive (the politicians) had it rough for a while, police forces around the country would soon be getting rockets up their backsides! Shake the tree, make life tough for people at the top and you will soon see changes. Self preservation is a great motivator, in this respect politicians are just as human as everyone else!

On a more positive note, coming from Lancashire, I find it quite satisfying to see the police filling their vans with zombies on a Friday and Saturday night, real policing at last!

Graham Wharton, St Albans, UK

The best thing about owning guns is merely having them in your home. Criminals here have to consider burglary very carefully - they know there is a high probability that the home owner has a firearm in the house. Sure, we still have crime, and many of the criminals have guns. But they don't know who else is packing either. A firearm is an equalizer for women and the elderly. Without a firearm, people are just fodder for street thugs more equipped to deal with hand-to-hand combat. One city here on the Pacific coast passed a law two years ago requiring all citizens to own a firearm. Woe to the home intruder in that city. I hope you Brits get it together over there. It saddens me to read these posts and to think that you don't feel safe walking your own streets.

Dave, Salem, USA / Oregon

Last week at 10.30am I was travelling through my village of Cuffley Herts it was wonderfully reassuring to see such a solid show of police strength and purposeful use of tax payers money.There were in the space of 200 yards three separate groups of police totalling 12 officers either interrogating stopped motorists or waiting to ambush others.Its good to see priorities recognised and I have no doubt the statistical improvement in the numbers prosecuted for speeding in Herts will offset our concerns regarding falls in crime prevention and crimes solved.My heartfelt thanks goes out to those who make these decisions regarding the use of police resources.

Andy Parker, Goffs Oak, England

Is there nobody who can see the relation between the rise in criminality and socialist governments in the UK?

And can nobody see that voting socialist will lead to more crime without end? I seem to recall that Michael Howard had it right - and then it all fell apart. Righteous disgust at the behaviour of the politicians of the Major government has reaped a bitter harvest

david Kay, St legier, Switzerland

Guns are totally banned in Washington, DC.

Jeff Friedberg, Albuquerque, NM

England traded Privacy & Liberty for Security, proving they deserve none of these things.

Man up you nancys! Start chopping off fingers and do the same to cops that obstruct justice under color of law.

Sovereign Citizen, California,

A clinically depressed, dysfunctional society in terminal meltdown. Within the framework of a democracy, it's hard to believe the situation can be turned around. What's next, "Turn your neighbourhood watch into a right wing death squad." The police are not part of the solution, so they must be part of the problem. Bottom line: You are screwed. How much of a not so gentle hint do you risk-adverse losers need to fly the coop? The pound is high, the FTSE 100 is high and domestic real estate is sky high. Doesn't the expression "cash out" strike a chord? In Asia, single British men that get into character as an English gentleman have emigration opportunities coming out of their ears. Because no two ways about it, Britain’s going down.

Andrew Milner, Yokohama, Japan

Hmm,
maybe that's why you've got so many cameras in your country. guess it's better to set them up so the police don't have to go out and make an appearance. kind of like sitting your kid in front of the tele so they'll stop crying so the parents don't have to get involved. just my opinion

robert, USA,

This is too big a subject to cover adequately in a short message. My perspective comes as a former UK police officer who over the past two decades has recruited numerous former police officers into the private sector; and who has worked with/observed police officers in the USA and Australia during the past eleven years. Comparisons are tempting, but are invariably more culturally complex than say a study of the New York experience can offer. One truth however is a constant. The electorate always gets the police force it deserves.

When you vote for certain types of politician, in time you will pay the price. How long and how much you will be paying in the UK is the scary part. Expect at least another decade of decline and you will be somewhere near reality. One last point: 'Where were you looking, Britons, when the criminal classes grew during your so-called boom years?'

Jason Forbes, Perth, Australia

"It's good to see gun control is working out for UK."

Harry: stricter firearms regulations almost certainly help keep UK homicide rates WELL below those in the US (like, one third to one fourth). While it's true that some statistics show that, say, assault is is as common in London as it is in, say, Washington DC, it's inarguably the case then Washingtonians are FAR more likely to be murdered than Londoners (I'd say something like 10 times more likely if I had to guesstimate).

You might be just as likely to get stabbed in the gut or kicked in the head in Britain as in the United States, but you're far less likely to be murdered, and that almost certainly is at least partly because American criminals are far better armed, on average, than their British counterparts (which is not surprising, because Americans in general are better armed than Britons). Killing is simply a lot more efficient with bullets than with knives or fists.

Jasper, Boston, USA

I am happy I live in America in a state where a law-abiding person can carry a concealed handgun. The notion of an individual having the RIGHT to protect his or herself _was_ a foundation of English notions considering Natural Rights. Indeed, it is an English idea. In respect to this foundation, however, these days America is more English than England, which rather resembles something out of a novel by George Orwell or Anthony Burgess.... What has happened to your country?

Frank, Carter, USA

As a serving police officer, any new government idea is better than the way the police is being run today. Vote in elected Senior Police Officer. This will get them off their back sides and make changes which will benefit the public and the officer on the streets. I myself dread being a victim of crime, even as a police officer, no cops of the street, PCSO's who have no powers and red tape make it a pointless task reporting crime.
Paperwork - CPS in the Division where I work are now asking for a full file build for a first hearing case. Whereas before, a couple of forms would do. Were going backwards once again.
Last but not least - In my division, Greater Manchester, there are 540 odd police officers. Out of this, there is on approximately 130 working the street as routine patrol officers. 130 Sounds alot. Wait and see. -
130 is split into 5 different shifts. Approximately 30 officers per shift working the street. For example. Night shift. 30 officers.

Paul, Manchester,

How about allowing the people the opportunity to defend themselves? I find it interesting that you don't even mention the anti-gun laws imposed on the people in London. An absolute failure!!! Look at America. We have continued to increase Concealed Weapon permits to 38 states and as you mentioined in the article---our crime rate is far less. But you refuse to give credit where credit is due. If you allow people to defend themselves from the bad guys----crime will drop. Your current system of disarming the good guys and allowing the bad guys to rule the streets will never work! And yet you still wonder why crime continues to climb. Amazing!

Robert W. Batchelor, Meridian, Idaho

George Orwell supposedly said "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Aggressive policing reduces crime.
Terry Walker, Ladson, S.C. / USA
*************************************
Terry, you may have been a police chief in the US, but the difference in mentality between the UK and the US is dramatic. And I know what you mean when you say "...and not become hysterical every time some citizen gets his feelings hurt". You are merely an apologist for police brutality.

Rodney King-style beatings of our citizens just alienates the public and stops the flow of inside information from the communities to the police, which stops them doing their job effectively. The problem is the vast bureaucracy of our meddlesome centralised government that keeps approximately 80% of our police officers in the office form filling instead of high visiblity policing on the beat where they need to be.

k, brighton, uk

A young man we know (call him J) was recently beaten up in a public place by a group of young men (possilbly students) he had just annoyed - he had been mildly insulting about their driver's ability to park a car. Several police officers just stood by and watched! When J appealed to them, they said there were too many of the students for them to be able to intervene. He expressed outrage at this, and they warned that if he said anything more, they could, and would, arrest him.

Is it any wonder they don't always get much public support?

Gill, Southampton, UK

What is "police" ? - I seem to have to pay something for this in my council tax but have always wondered what it meant.

Peter, Cambridge,

What the police need to do to restore law and order on the streets when yobs are running riot on a Friday and Saturday night, is to go in hard like the riot police at the Roma.. Man United football match.
Criminals do not get punished and their standard of living is better in prison than outside.
Modern society has gone soft on crime and the uniformed officers are doing the best they can with one hand tied behing their backs by the Politically Correct inept Chief Constables who couldn't give a stuff for the public and spend their days ticking off days on the calendar towards their index linked, unearned pensions.

Harry Kennard, Peasmarsh, England

It's good to see gun control is working out for UK

harry, USA,

Many studies attribute the significant drop in crime in large U.S. cities over the last decade to the dramatic expansion of laws allowing law-abiding citizens to obtain licenses to carry concealed handguns. Criminals are much less likely to attack people either on the streets or in their homes if they believe there is a good chance that the potential victim is armed.

Scott, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

When I phoned my local police that I (70 years old) had been challenged by three young men who were employed by my neighbour to trim trees on his boundary but who were cutting in my garden and would not leave ("stand back or you will get hurt" one said with a chain saw in his hand), I was told that it was a civil matter. I just had to accept the situation without any support. Later, the Chief Constable apologised after a complaint to my M.P.
This week it was reported that two constables had taken time to seek to interview a 10 year old boy who had alledgedly accused another youngster of being 'gay' by text message.
Is there no-one with any sense? But then we are all worried by climate change are we not?

Robert, London,

Please forgive me for not disclosing my full name or whereabouts. I am a retired police officer who spent my service on the front line. Back in the1970's we, the Police, bossed the streets, no question about that. When youths caused a nuisance they soon stopped doing so once we administered summary justice. No paperwork, no fuss, parents informed what had happened, end of story. Then the likes of Patricia Hewitt and Harriet Harman became involved with others and shouted for the so called " rights " of the offender and completely forgot about the rights of the community to live in peace and quiet. The police lost the right to boss the street and now we have the situation where the youths boss the streets. On top of the this the police are constrained by law and red tape and the CPS, Criminals Protection Society. A complete reversal back to the old ways is desperately needed. And if the EU is told to mind its own business so be it.

David, Cheshire, United Kingdom

I live in the Leith area of Edinburgh, which has a high level of street crime. Youths from the local estate - appropriately named the Fort - sally out on regular expeditions to attack their neighbours, by breaking windows, damaging cars, carrying out muggings, etc.

On reporting several nights of stones raining down on our building and others to the local beat officer, I was told that there are 2 officers on duty at any one time in the Leith area. As they work together in a team, this means that there is one response unit to cover an area with a population in excess of 50,000 people. Perhaps I am just being dim, but I would have thought that this to all intents and purposes means that there is no meaningful police presence in the area. The yobs also know this and the rest of us suffer the consequences.

Policing is one of the areas of public life that are being addressed simply through paper exercises. The bad guys fear policemen, not charters and policy statements.

Andrew, Edinburgh, UK

I cannot recall the last time I saw a police oficer on foot in my part of Gtr. Manchester. The only time you do is after the last shooting when they appear as if by magic toting their weapons and strolling around in pairs.

This continues until the cameras and media have lost interest and moved on and then they disappear again. Until the next time.

I do not know what is wrong with the police but something most certainly is.

D. Hardy, Manchester,

Of course if London truly was a city of vigilantes we would no doubt see plenty of Police dealing with the problem. Ha, isn't that the despairing truth.

Paul McCloskey, London, England

This afternoon, from my surgery window, I observed two crimes in almost exactly the same place and only five minutes apart. One was a young man selling drugs to one of my patients. The other was a car which had overstayed at a parking meter. Readers may well imagine which crime was immediately noticed by our friendly local cctv camera and urgently attended by a uniformed officer who meted out summary punishment likely to prevent any recurrence. Readers may also imagine what this did for my confidence in the Police.

Desmond Persaud, Wimbledon, London, UK

The deterrents to crime are 1) The risk of being caught 2) Prosecution if caught and 3) Punishment if prosecuted. With no police presence on the streets, an ineffective CPS and overcrowded prisons Britain is failing on all three counts.

Nicholas, Boston, USA

In NYC Guiliani established a no tolerence policy for infractions and in areas where cime was comitted the area was flooded with an obvious police presence and crime went down. He certainly did not require police to fillout forms on questioning people and 40 questions is not questioning it is a social survey

Herbert, ny, ny

With a Labour home secretary is in charge and an army of PC loonies sitting on the various police authorities, plainly there is no hope whatsoever to reduce crime.

James Wong, Macau,

Once again it has to said that Government is about process and not results, hence the paperwork. The 60's attitude is what has eroded the police. When the crooks are back on the streets before the forms are filled, zero morale. Now the idea is to let rapists and killers out early. Another bright idea. Poverty does NOT cause crime. If this were so, then during the Depression the crime statistics should have been off the wall!! Knowing you have a good chance of getting away with the crime is why crooks are crooks. Crooks are not stupid, they are crooks. The stupid one's are those who think that it is ' societies ' fault . Here in Houston the police cannot ask anyone their legal status. A lot of extra crime from 300,000 illegals. We have 100,000 ' victims' from Katrina, and we have to have a special police unit for them When respect for the law goes, then everything else goes.

Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Texas

My son was beaten up in broad daylight with 3 witnesses dna and cctv evidence. The case was thrown out of court due to the police not providing evidence on time to the CPS. This is in a small market town in middle England - goodness knows what happens in the city.... My son has recently been beaten up again in the same market town but we will now handle it ourselves - it is not worth the hassle to deal with the police. There is far more protection for the suspected criminal that the victims. Complaints to the CPS only result in minor disicplinary warnings to individual officers - no attempts are made to improve the management of cases and it would appear no way for the public to bring about much required change.

Julie Dale, Stone,

The Police are their own worst enemy - they have colluded with Blair and Co to create the current situation ( which had been underway of course under previous governments). The Police ( and it is Chief Constables, not the ordinary PC's who are to blame) are more interested in diversity and positive discrimination than catching wrongdoers and banging them up.

Here in Surrey we never see a police officer on foot - and not too many in cars. Our michelin proportioned Chief Constable, Bob Quicke ( he is not) stays secure in his country house HQ near Guildford surrounded by private security guards ( yes really - they had a break in recently !). Any cut in burglaries is because we all now have burglar alarms and mortice locks - it is not down to Quicke and Co.

The Police here have lost the respect of the middle classes - we know of course the underclass get away with murder thanks to inept leadership.

You ought to get out more Chief Constable Quicke - and talk to those who pay you.

Mike, Leatherhead,

The woefully low level of active, visible policing, coupled with ridiculous levels of paperwork and PC oriented target matching are not only a failure of Government, they represent a failure of senior management within the police.

Be it minister, mandarin or manager those who have failed should be held accountable, no cosy retirements on index linked benefits, or cop-out retirements due to ill health. I am somewhat sympathetic towards the managers, but only towards those who have spoken out as they should have.

Then lets get onto the people who hired or appointed those who failed ...

John Tremayne, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Bring in "dirty Harry".

Bjorn, Swindon, Wiltshire

Back to basic Justice!
Maybe start by clearing out the Augean stables masquerading as Law Schools.

A crime is a crime is a crime!!
Criminal justice is justice for the criminal.
REAL justice is for society!!!!

And - Kiri is 100% correct.
But please don't deport them here.

DavidN, Melbourne,

as an ex police i would say that many are just lazy...
and
many senior officers have been promoted due to sex -to increase female senior officers -with no regard to ablity...sour grapes ....ok dream on......
many of my female colleages of 20 years ago KNEW they would be promoted by just passing exams.......
my female supt was an absolute incompetant -not a clue- now a VERY senior officer in the midlands-and ther are many more MALE and female ..just the right fodder to promote the 'P.C.' nonsence we are are now all subject to
How often do you see regular police officers out on foot....you don;t because many of the senor officers themselves did not do it
The 'informal' ... 'Community' police oficers you see patrolling do not have the training etc BUT ..they do reassure...so i suppose all is oK??IS IT??...
they will sooon ahve arrest powers (whicjh has beed officilly denied etc etc ) but less trained ..less paid etc etc
byeee

russ, oxford, england

First things first. There’s no point the police starting to perform their tradition duties if, when they do arrest the criminals - they can’t be jailed because the prisons are full. From what I observe, the Americans have far more prison places enabling them to not only sentence far more criminals to longer periods in jails; because they are not hampered by our version of ‘human rights ’ legislation that protects the criminals rather than the law-abiding public, their jails aren’t holiday camps as ours are. The cost of building many old - fashioned type prisons would be a fraction of the cost of building just one of the 5 star hotels masquerading as prisons we build these days. When the kitchen food produced at Albany prison gets 5 stars compared to the Royal Yacht Squadron’s equivalent getting 3 stars - I give up.

John Dunne, Grimsby,

It is a standard joke among my friends that there is no police in the UK. I haven't heard any positive experiences.

One called after having his car stolen to be told that there was nothing the police could do and he had to come down to the station. Another had a bike stolen for the police to tell him to call the non emergency number.

Another had suspicious people in his street yet the police were not prepared to come around to investigate or prevent the likely crime from happening.

Whilst you may think that these are not "serious" crimes, the lack of respect for victims and lack of proactive preventative behaviour is certainly sub-standard service and the police should be ashamed of themselves and their attitude to crime.

Jack C, Reading on Thames,

A contributory cause for the decline in violent crime in the USA must surely be the passage of "concealed carry" legislation in all but a few US States. Wherever introduced this has resulted in a fall in all types of violent crime. The FBI confirms this but "liberal" commentators cannot bring themselves to admit it - it goes against the grain of their thinking. Here in the UK we make it more and more difficult and legally hazardous for law-abiding people to defend themselves effectively and then wring our hands at the entirely predictable consequences. Elected Police Commissioners ? Better to introduce elected District Attorneys with the power to direct policing policy. Then stand or fall by the results. A good grounding for national politics too.

David Thomas, Slough, UK

I have to agree with Jez in London. removing the lowest prforming 10% has the ability to focus minds liek nothing else. Of course there is a positive side to that, which in fact exists. If the Police were allowed to keep the proceeds of teh crime of convicted criminals then all the personal, equipment etc they needed would be available. So more crimes prosecuted means more money. The downside is that a criminal operating in a highly suceesful prosecution police area is likely to shift his op[eration to an area of reduced success. He might even consider that giving up crime might pay better dividends.

nik, Newcastle, UK

Politicians don't give a damn, because criminals are voters too, and they'd rather do the popular thing than the right thing. I can count on one hand the number of non-selfserving MPs.

This is why I have no respect for the career politician. They may get very rich with all the benefits, but they are worthless.

They know full well the answer is extreme discomfort, and the fear of it, but want the criminal's vote too.

Aubrey Michaels, Birmingham,

Please do not give up on the police. I'm sure this situation must be just as frustrating for the public as it is for the rank and file officers who want more than ever to do the job they joined to do but who are frustrated in their efforts by an unsupportive bureaucratic management who enforce restrictive Home Office policy. This government does not care about the safety of the public or the effectiveness of the forces. If it did it would have put your officers back out on the streets long before now. Please go to my website and support change by signing the petiton. www.realpolicing.co.uk. Many thanks.

Johnno Hills, Hove, East Sussex

I suggest that a major problem with British policing is the 'job for life' ethos. It breeds a very complacent culture. Young officers do the hard graft, whilst the older ones sit in the office or find a cushy job they will enjoy whilst planning for a comfortable retirement. One cannot blame them for that, it's human nature. In fact it is probably the cultural norm throughout the UK public sector. Perhaps we should try the US business practice of shedding the poorest performing 10% of the workforce annually - that would shake things up a bit!

Jez, London,

A friend of mine was recently assaulted on the streets by a group of Pakistanis. He went to the police station to report it and was told it was a racial slur to describe the group as "Pakistanis" and he could be charged. The country is lost.

Fred, Dubai, Dubai

Perhaps we should listen up to the wise words of the retired US police officer, Terry Ladson below.

What's needed here is a change of perception, job description and minimised documentation.

dr venables preller, Warminster, UK

Well said Terry Walker, Ladson, S.C. / USA
Lets get it right PC we may have to be but at the end of the day remember the old adage "Ordinary people sleep safe at night because there are rough men paid to do violence on there behalf" or words to that effect.
Whether you like it or not the police need to be out on the streets looking after the people not doing paperwork or hiding in their offices chuntering. Get back to old style policing it worked in New York it will work here. The police needs to be forward thinking but it also needs to be effective and now there's to much thought and the wrong type of effect.

Keith, Newcastle,

I am a retired US police officer. I started as a street police patrolman, and ended as a police chief. What works here is aggressive street policing. Someone is going to rule the streets--either the police or the criminals. There is no in-between. Police provide citizen iservices, but their main job is control of criminals. Criminals comprise a subculture of their own--they are predators. While police have boundaries they cannot cross, neither are they social workers. They are the last line of defense in society. Beyond that last line lies anarchy . Paperwork, the refuge of the bureaucrat, can be minimized. To be effective, police officers must be aggressive, and know absolutely that their superiors will back them up, and not become hysterical every time some citizen gets his feelings hurt. George Orwell supposedly said "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Aggressive policing reduces crime.

Terry Walker, Ladson, S.C. / USA

You get what you pay for. If you pay a reward for more horse manure, you get more horse manure (more personnel, higher pay, increased automation, increased paperwork). If you punish the production of more horse manure, you'll get less of it. Basic human behavior. The police are doing exactly what the political leaders have demanded. You don't like it, fire the ruling class.

Dave, Alexandria, VA

In this day and age with modern methods and equipment it seems to me that once the police target a certain type of criminal they are quite good at catching them.

The real problem is what to do with these criminals once they are caught. With prison spaces being taken up quicker than we can replace them, we now see the judicial system leaning towards giving non custodial sentences and handing out ASBO’s, thereby leaving us to deal with these criminals on the streets.

While I understand that there is a practical consideration regarding prison spaces, I don’t think that this kind of sentencing is the solution. I feel that it undermines the efforts of the police who work tirelessly to catch these people, and does nothing for the moral of the general public.

Kiri, london, UK

The problemwith policing in the UK is easy to see when you live in a country like Germany. The German police will not tolerate any misdemeanour, such as littering, jay walking and spitting to name but a few. The other thing is they are not spiteful either, I have been caught speeding here and in the UK and the difference is startling. In Germany, on the spot fine, a dressing down and on your way. In the UK, searched, car searched, tyre treads checked, air pressure in tyres checked, lights checked to see if the police can reach thier quota of arrests by not getting out of thier cars!!

The UK poicing service has too long let little crimes pass them by and now nobody has any respect for the law, as there is no real distinction as to what is or isn't against the law. Coupled with the jailing of innocent people for crimes they didn't commit makes us all wary about our crime fighters.

James Coughlan, Hanover, Germany

There should be a national target for the percent of UK policemen on the beat per 100,000 population, starting from the present (scandalous) 4 per 100,000 and rising to result in 50% of all police on the beat in the next 10 years. All other police tasks to be subservient to achieving this target.

V Woodward, sudbury, UK

Regardless of any study to the contrary, violent crime IS the domain of youth, and not just in America. The U.S. has seen an aging of its population, slowly but surely, since 1965. The sons and daughters of the Baby Boom generation, "Generation X," are now raising their children and there are a lot fewer of them coming up than there were Boomers or Gen-X kids. I think the dip in violent crime is a mixture of demographics (aging) and a more effective program called Problem Oriented Policing. This program, known as POP, has been at the forefront of my department here in Sacramento for about a decade. I'm proud to be a part of it and, yes, it is effective. But we can't take credit for all the decrease in crime that has occurred during those ten years.

Jim P, Sacramento, California