The story so far. We publish a book by a serving police inspector (or higher), calling the author a ‘senior police officer’, and offering readers the inside track on modern British policing from the point of view of a more senior officer than a PC or a sergeant (‘the most senior police officer to date breaks ranks to tell the shocking truth about the collapse of the country’s criminal justice system’).
Nick Herbert MP writes a piece in the Observer in which he says Gadget is ‘self-promoted’ and adds that ‘he is not an inspector’.
Therefore, Gadget must be either a PC or a sergeant, with whom we are colluding in a bogus ‘promotion’ to give his or her views, and our book, more weight.
Ergo, it seems to us, that Nick Herbert and the Observer are accusing us, by implication, of being fraudulent liars.
A few days ago, I contacted Herbert and the editor of the Observer electronically asking them to correct this error.
I’ve had no reply from either of them, and the piece is still up on the Guardian/Observer website.
As it happens, we’ve had a couple of barristers as house guests over the last few days. Their views on the matter were very interesting, and one of them has offered to act pro bono for us if necessary.
All we really want is for Herbert and the Observer to acknowledge their error. If we don’t hear from them soon, we will send more formal letters.
The whole issue of policing is more interesting now than ever. According to the latest figures, crime is down by 10 per cent despite the cuts. I am very fortunate to live in an area where there is almost no crime at all, but this does seem unlikely to be correct. If it is true, what is the mechanism?
Herbert and his chums would have us believe that crime is falling, and that New Year’s Eve will be another example of our exciting new continental-style cafe culture in action.
Perhaps they’re right. But here’s Gadget’s take (perhaps based more on experience):
On New Years Eve, Types 1. and 3. will outnumber Type 2. but it won’t seem that way to us. We will be dealing with Type 2. long after the street celebrations end. Type 2. will take their global hatred activities home with them, via fatal road accidents, domestic beatings and vicious fights within families etc. They will go to A&E and assault staff. They will assault staff in custody at police stations.
We know that Ruralshire Ambulance Service will be swamped, so we have been issued with more first aid kit this year, including defibrillators to start your heart in an emergency. I think that is what they are for, we had the training cancelled at the last-minute. The machines ‘talk’ to you when you use them, recently, a colleague was given instructions in Polish when he opened the thing up. True story. Cheap, you see.
Ruralshire General Hospital have asked if we can post police officers in A&E to protect the private security staff on New Years Eve. So, a public body uses public money to pay a private ‘wealth creator’ to provide security in a public space, they then ask another public body to protect the private body using more public money. How ironic.
If course, if you’re Dave Cameron, Nick Herbert or Ed Miliband, you really have to work hard to be mugged or burgled. Maybe for a fortunate minority – I include myself in that number – things are better. Coincidentally, Tim Worstall links to this very good piece by ‘The Streetwise Professor’, Craig Pirrong, Professor of Finance at the University of Houston.
Happy New Year!
Boring I know but I would have tweeted: @nickherbertmp/@observer (if they have a twitter account) libel update
Excellent! Please make them apologise on the front page.
“”" According to the latest figures, crime is down by 10 per cent despite the cuts”"
Errr …. “recorded crime” is perhaps down, but crime down ? I would say not.
What happens is that you reduce the number of officers on the street – and make the ones left busier and busier dealing with “chav domestics”.
You then get less and less proactive work done by the fewer cops remaining as they have less time to “go mooching”.
You then get less stop searches, and less crimes for drug possession, going equipped, and less for minor thefts and theft from vehicles (these later crimes are not usually reported by the police but with a scally with some sat navs in the cells and a local press appeal you can usually get the public to come forward if they think their goods can be returned)….
less crimes as above – and the Government can laud that crime rates are falling when it is only the “recorded crime” that has dropped……
Hamish – like you I’m sceptical, as I said, and I have a lot less direct experience (I assume).
But how do we explain the British Crime Survey, which also shows crime falling consistently and is nothing to do with recorded crime?
I don’t know the answer but it must be (I think?) that the BCS is either accurate or fraudulent? If the latter, I would love to publish a book about it.