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THE NEW Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, missed his man when he joined today's series of dawn raids on burglars and robbers. The suspect concerned had been picked up in the small hours during a break-in elsewhere, which rather spoiled the stunt. Nonetheless, Sir Paul deserves credit for breaking down some recent policing orthodoxies. The Commissioner has announced that officers will in future patrol singly rather than in pairs, wherever possible. For too long we were told that officers could not go out alone because one was needed to summon help while the other grappled with the suspect. But most police activity is not like that. Much of it is about being visible to the public. That deters opportunistic criminals, reduces the fear of crime and encourages witnesses to come forward.
In turn, a virtuous spiral should develop of fewer opportunities for crime, better chances of arrest when incidents do occur and more confidence in the force. Effectively doubling patrols by sending officers out singly should help police "govern" the streets, Sir Paul says. That is a message Londoners alarmed by the trends in knife and gun crime among young people will be pleased to hear. Certainly single officers should prove more approachable than the pairs who typically seem preoccupied by their own conversations.
This change in practice is not the only reform Sir Paul needs to make, however. Getting more officers out from behind their desks and back onto the beat means big changes, cutting out paperwork and using manpower more effectively. That will mean taking on the police unions, which will require whole-hearted support from ministers. In briefings to senior officers, and with his high-profile role in today's raids, Sir Paul has raised expectations that he can deliver measurable improvement. It is now up to him to do what is necessary to force those changes through at the Met.
Price of excellence
PROPOSALS from universities to double tuition fees - and then some - will trouble parents and intending students, but there is no alternative. This newspaper has always supported the principle that the student, as the main beneficiary of a university education, must make a reasonable contribution towards its cost. It is not fair that people who did not have those opportunities should bear most of the burden, through taxes, for those who do. Of course there should be equal access to higher education for those whose parents cannot afford it but that is what student loans and bursaries are for. Students are adults and should not forever be seen in terms of their origins but as the above-average earners they usually become.
In addition, the news that Cambridge is to require at least one A* grade for entrance will dismay some applicants but simply reflects the reality that when more than a quarter of students achieve As at A-level, a higher hurdle is required. Britain's best universities are among this country's greatest assets, holding their own with the best in the world and contributing beyond measure to the UK's economic and cultural health. This is no time either to starve them of the funds they need or to interfere with their admissions procedures. Tony Blair forced top-up fees through Parliament partly by making them artificially low at the outset. Now, reality is catching up. Ministers must press ahead with their fee review. Universities must demonstrate to students that their education has to be paid for somehow, and that it is good value for money.
Show business
THE WEST End stage is in remarkable health, with Waiting for Godot, War Horse and Calendar Girls together showing advanced ticket sales of nearly £5 million. This is high by historic standards despite the backdrop of recession. Sterling's sharp fall has boosted demand from tourists but clearly Londoners, too, are embracing the life-enhancing experience that theatre provides.
Reader views (7)
You would think that officers were getting attacked every
time they walked out the station the way Hugh is talking.If the officer needs assistance he has a radio.get the cops on the beat on thier own talking to people instead of flying buy in cars or talking to each other .
- Graham Love, Strathclyde, 17/03/2009 19:17
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I retired in 1985 after 30 years service. We routinely patrolled alone although I admit that,sometimes, in some areas the level of violence has now altered. BUT, for the first 10 years of my service we had no radios, no long handled batons or cans of mace spray. We managed but must of us were well build, ex Servicemen (National Service)
Nowadays, to accommodate ethnic minorities and women, the physical standards have dropped dramatically.
- Charles, Stanmore. London, 17/03/2009 16:23
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What John fails to grasp is that there are some very dangerous people out there, some carrying guns, two reduces the risk greatly, due to the fact that there might be a reliable witness, better still give them guns, that's the only way you'd get me to become a cop and walk the streets alone these days, get real.
- Hugh, Birmingham, UK, 17/03/2009 13:49
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How can our "streets be safe" with a single, unarmed cop wandering around areas in which kids are carrying revolvers?
Get real, I emigrated to the US and spend a lot of time in both countries, let me tell you I see far less idiocy on the streets there than here; making cops patrol alone when unarmed is sheer idiocy and demonstrates how little you know of the real world.
I won't have "more confidence in the force" until they are armed routinely and allowed to do their job rather than being made almost impotent by the dread of reams of paperwork and political correctness, where is Dirty Harry when you need him?
- Hugh, Birmingham, UK, 17/03/2009 13:45
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Retired from the police after 30 years service. Walking the beat alone? Um, that's what was normal, except maybe at night. Progress? my size 10 foot!!
- Chris Williams, Cardiff, 17/03/2009 13:21
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This going out on the beat alone idea isn't new, it was tried in Dundee a few years ago and the female officers said they were being put in danger so it had to be reversed. A bit ridiculous that I walk the same streets in Dundee as them and I don't have a baton, a radio, a stab vest or any of the other advantages they have yet they expect me, who pays their wages, to walk alone while they refuse to. If female officers can't go out on the beat alone they should find another profession.
- John, Aberdeen, UK, 17/03/2009 12:46
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Police Officers in pairs is a very good idea for any number of reasons, but mainly because coppers aren't supermen - and two can affect an arrest without endangering themselves.
- Squiz, islington, 17/03/2009 12:11
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