LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Anti-social behaviour no longer seems to be a concern for police

Just what is the PCC doing about this worrying trend in increased unacceptable behaviour on our streets? Just as concerning, if not more so, is the comment from an observer of the Minster Gardens who said “it showed the town centre was a free-for all” and that the police had dismissed suggestions that the incident should be investigated (Two arrests have been made since that comment was reported — editor).

I think I have read similar comments previously to other ASB incidents. So what is the PCC doing about this matter in his role of overall stewardship of police priorities? Perhaps he is spending too much of his time on pedantry issues rather than tackling serious societal problems? Beyond raising taxes, which are clearly not helping, he does not appear to be doing much good.

I am a daily walker and, while enjoying this activity, I meet a variety of people doing the same, and I often stop to chat. Over recent months, with my disappointment with crime and ASB in general, I have been asking people for their opinion of the PCC. I have been surprised by the number of people who are simply unaware of the PCC, and even more are unaware of what he does or is supposed to do and even less can point to anything that they believe he can assist with. Should I be surprised by this given the lack of visibility and low profile of the PCC?

This being the case, it leads me to my first question, like the Caterpillar in Alice I should like to pose the question to the PCC, who are you?

I should then like to ask him, precisely what do you do? The public certainly don’t know.

Followed by, how effective are you in directing and prioritising police activity to the needs of the public?

If you are effective, how do we monitor your effectiveness, what metrics can we apply over time to determine your value-add and our value for money?

After all your function does not come cheap and in these times of rising inflation and increased taxes we should ensure every pound of public money is well spent. Don’t you agree?

Surely by now we should be able and you should be able to demonstrate the benefits from having your function? If there are none, then we have the right to make it clear to politicians both locally and nationally that this post should be abolished.

My fear is that I will be asking similar questions of the new mayor in two or three years’ time as the voting turn out for him sparked about as much enthusiasm for the role as a parking attendant. And he has shown so far about as much charisma as a bottle of pond water.

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