.....and a letter that did get published in the Croydon Guardian.
19.08.11
Dear Editor,
Due to the surge, the number of police officers in Croydon is two and half times more than usual. Arguably, the increased police presence means that residents and shopkeepers have never felt safer in and around the town centre. Shoppers are never more than a minute away from a pair of bobbies on the beat. I have felt reassured enough to lean my pushbike against a grocers’ window on Station Road. Normally I would lock my bike up with a 'D lock' and chain! Everyone I speak to wants a permanent increase in visible policing, even young people. However, cuts in the police budget suggest the number of beat officers could fall.
These numbers are hardly surprising given that the Met is still perceived to be institutionally racist by the Black Police Officers Association. Given this label still hangs around the Met, it’s going to be difficult to increase the number of officers from black communities. The fact that Safer Neighbourhood Teams in Croydon are under review because of the cuts won’t help the situation. PCSO’s do some excellent work within schools that help pull down the historical barriers of mistrust that still exist for Black and Asian communities with regard to relations with the police.
I don’t know anyone Black or Asian who is a police officer. I do however know many people of BME origin who are public servants. This also suggests that ethnic minorities don’t see opportunities for career progression within the Met.
A letter on police nestled in the middle of a busy letters page. Unfortunately, the Croydon Guardian did not publish the full version of my letter:
20.01.10
Dear Editor,
I have just signed the online petition for more police for Croydon at www.croydon.gov.uk/more police and I would urge others to do the same. Your ‘Spare us a copper’ article correctly identified that police are allocated using borough wide data, and because “Croydon contains extremes of deprivation and affluence” we end up with an unfair deal. The imbalance of wealth between the north and south of the borough distorts the data. Pockets of poverty are more likely to be associated with higher levels of crime. A recent report in this paper highlighted that over a quarter of north Croydon children areliving inpoverty.
Labour and Conservative politicians from every tier of government support the campaign for more police.In fact, the call for more ‘bobbies on the beat’ is ubiquitous just before an election. Which begs the question: If there is universal agreement on this issue, why aren’t there more police around, not just for Croydon, but for all the boroughs? All sections of our society want more community policing: the elderly, local businesses and even young people.
The answer must be to do with spending priorities. For example, unlike other parties, Greens would choose not to spend £96 billion on renewing trident; £4.5 billion a year on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; or the estimated £5.3 billion on ID cards. Arguably, they do not make us safer. Moreover, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have made the world less safe.
Surely the money would be better spent on ensuring the borough has more police officers on the beat and invested in programmes which take families out of poverty.
