‘The last thirty years has seen a complete breakdown of law and order’.

Today, we continue our articles on knife crime from all Prospective Parliamentary Candidates across Havering.

Philip Hyde is the ReformUk Romford candidate.

This is part of the wider issue of policing and crime in general, not one specific crime. The last 30 years has seen a complete breakdown in law and order. First off, it must be recognised that police presence is a deterrent to crime whilst CCTV on the most part, just records crime.

The primary reason’s being…all of which ReformUK aim to reverse.

a) 60% closure of police stations raising response times. Police numbers are little more than half what they were in the 1960s per head of population. 

b) Elimination of the local “Initial Contact” 999 system, replaced by a centralised system which also, significantly raised response times.

c) The implementation of “Connect”… (much hated by front line officers) which has led to considerable, unnecessary paperwork for officers, thus reducing their affective time actually policing.

d) Due to a total lack of prison places, successive governments have forced the CPS into a policy which encourages the judicial system to be Soft On Crime. 

All of the above have had a huge impact on the safety on our streets…BUT without doubt, the implementation of “CODE G ” in 2012 has led to a dramatic fall in people being arrested. CODE G is an amendment to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984. The restrictions this has had on police ability to question and or detain potential perpetrators of crime, has significantly raised the opportunity for criminals to dodge suspicion. In effect, CODE G has tied the hands of police officers who now have to be mindful of the new restrictions which take into account The Equality Act 2010 and Article 5 of The Human Rights Act 1998.

 Victims of crime are no longer a concern of the ruling political parties. Its time we drastically Reformed they way we protect our public. 

Support Local Journalism
We at The Havering Daily appreciate your support of quality journalism. Your generous donation, no matter the size, allows us to continue bringing unbiased and informative news to the community. Your contribution helps us maintain our independence and allows us to continue providing high-quality journalism. Thank you for valuing the work we do and for supporting our mission

Thank you