Douglas Carswell's Blog

Bravo Manchester police

It is tempting to think of twitter as a bit of a gimmick.  However, Manchester police's decision to tweet each time they respond to a call from the public shouldn't be dismissed as PR.  It could turn out to be an inspired move. 

As a new MP, I raised a number of local concerns with senior police officers about local police priorities.  Indeed, I still do.  In response, a couple of officers invited me to spend an evening with them on their beat in Clacton.

Doing so, I got a better appreciation of the kind of pressures that police officers are under.  They are constantly having to juggle priorities.

Tweeting could allow thousands to people to see the kind of pressures local police in Manchester are under.  That would allow several long overdue things to happen.  

First, the wider public would start to ask questions about police priorities.  It wouldn't just be remote officials on the Police Authority, or in Whitehall, who mulled over the options, but the wider community. 

As a consequence, questions might be asked as to how we make policing more effective.  For example, why not allow custody sergeants, not just Crown Prosecutors, to decide if charges should be brought for relatively minor offences, such as drunkenness?   

Second, the public would better appreciate how local decisions taken by the council - such as licensing and alcohol sales - can have a big impact on policing.  Rather than leave it to the police to deal with the consequences of decisions made in the town hall, local communities might be more willing to demand that local councils consider the impact of their decisions on local policing first.  

More folk might better appreciate that in a free society the police are there to do many things.  But not everything. 

Manchester police's initiative could help ensure local people better appreciate the pressures that local police are under.  That in turn helps pave the way for local police chiefs to better appreciate what priorities local people would like to see.

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