by Smoke2much » Tue Mar 08, 2005 8:59 am
I have to disagree with a point you've made there Doug. The fast track system for graduates has been slowed down somewhat in the last few years. It used to be the case that a graduate would leave Hendon as an Inspector, now they leave as a PC and if they pass the interviews, exams and performance reviews then they are promoted on a fast track.
I agree that there is a hideous lack of "Beat Coppers" about. Part of the problem is that in many areas they have become a target and therefore have to travel in two's. In effect you would have to almost double the number of policemen that we have to see any benefit on the streets. The country could not afford to do this as they cost so much money. I also don't see that this would reduce crime. Numbers of convicted prisoners when plotted on a graph against the population of the country show that crime has not actually risen by that much in the last 50 years. The media coverage of crime has risen and public awareness along with it.
I appreciate that convicted prisoners is probably not the best indicator but it should be remembered that there are a large number of crimes now that didn't exist 30 or 40 years ago.
Joy riding, spousal assault, car stereo theft, mobile phone theft, happy slapping, internet offences. The list is endless. I happen to think that life in this country has not radically worsened in some ways for hundreds of years. In fact I think it has improved.
Take sex crimes as an example. Following the Jack the Ripper killings in Whitehall in 1889 a survey on prostitution was carried out in London. The Victorian middle classes wanted to understand the scope of the problem. It was found that approaching 30% of the working class women in London were, or had been prostitutes. In addition to this the average starting age for a girl on the streets was 12 years old.
With a modern diet and standard of living most 12 year old girls are approaching or in puberty. In 1889 the average age of the menarch was 16 years. If there hadn't been a market on the streets for these girls they wouldn't have made a living and wouldn't have done it, but the perception is that sexual offences against children are a modern phenomenon. The only thing that is modern is the internet business side.
To sum up my, humble, opinion: Nothing changes, more police won't make any difference. The theives will still steal, the murderers will still murder and the perverts will still be perverted.
Will
Who switched the lights off?
