| |
Police should be on beat not poring over statistics
• SHERLOCK Holmes would turn in his grave if he thought that, when in private, our police gave any credence to their approval rating from a marketing survey, even one that was statistically representative (Have police lost our confidence? February 6).
What is it, anyway, with this government that it has to treat every human endeavour as a shopping experience? Does it really think that by the constant production of spurious statistics it can bring scientific validation to its policies?
Dr Watson would remind readers that such statistics will not give a meaningful comparison of the performance of police forces unless the same sample of residents has equal contact with all the forces and is asked to rate them all.
As it stands, this survey says as much about Islington residents and recent publicised cases as it does about the local police force.
What is worrying about this report are not the statistics but the fact that police time is being wasted compiling them.
What positive outcomes can be hoped for from studying this ephemeral public opinion when by the very process of gathering it our police display their intention to ignore the more widely expressed view that they should spend less time on paper exercises and more on our pavements?
When the Metropolitan Police was set up as a permanent force in 1829 it was on the understanding that it should concentrate on preventative policing rather than follow the French example of a centralised police force that gathered information about ordinary citizens. After 180 years there is a need to return to this principle.
CHRIS GRAHAM
Tollington Park, N4
|
| |
|
 |
| |
| |
| |
