Discover Hertford Online Forum

Reply ID 800

It's difficult to see what the police actually do with their ever increasing budget. They seem to have washed theit hands of any involvement with parking enforcement, leaving the town clogged with illegaly and badly parked vehicles. They have automated speed cameras to save them having to actually going out and catch dangerous drivers. They have CCTV so that they don't have to go into the town and prevent crime. They object to any events in town (presumably to save themselves the hassle of having to police something). In fact the only time you see them is rushing back to the station for shift changes.

Reply ID 804

Not to mention sentry duties at The Mercury HQ! (Can anyone throw any light on why this was?)

Reply ID 807

I am not proposing this as an apologist for the police force but as you may be aware, I do have some involvement with the issues Dill has raised. The police don't undertake parking duties owing to the issue of decriminalisation. Not as EHDC would like us to believe, an overnight horror but contained in Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 and Road Traffic Act 1991. Winchester adopted decriminalisation in 1996, Watford and Luton shortly afterwards; EHDC was rather slow on the uptake. Hertford now has a dedicated police officer of whom you should see more and there will be more on the co-operation of various organisations regarding the use of the towns CCTV over the next few weeks. As for town centre events, the police do not actually object, they advise. We have adopted the American idea of litigation or 'ambulance chasing' and as I may have said somewhere else on these boards, you would be a very irresponsible organiser if you ignored the safety advice given by the police because in the event of a serious incident it is the organisers head on the block. The essential problem with town centre events is traffic and the demands of the modern motorist to be able to drive anywhere at any time, even through an event full of 10000 people. And lastly, the police do provide community officers for town centre events if requested.

Reply ID 809

Hmmm, thanks Sloop but I think you miss the point.14% rise,no responsibility for parking and, as far as I can see from the community charge information, no reduction of the element previously included in the police budget moving to EHDC. So, by my calculation the police now have 14% plus the element relating to parking and for that they will be doing even less. Sorry, they will be helpful and advising - I forgot! Community policing and " co-operation with local organisations"; again the point is missed. To me, and I believe the majority of those who pay the community charge, community policing is communcation with the community and to do that you have to walk the streets not sit in cars. Unless I'm very much mistaken even the Met has admited this week that it is going back that way and that it made a mistake 10 years ago when it moved to policing by response. I believe there is a community officer in my area of the town - never seen, but I have seen the occasional car with one driving and one reading, coming past! Having read the districts report, for last year, in the Mercury today,about their overstretch and their inability,seemingly, to retain officers, I do not hold much hope for this strategy. Perhaps you could ask one of your contacts to respond - in simple language - as to what,we the community, should expect for our money? Thanks.