Police chief on town beat

Chief Constable Paul West meeting people in WhitchurchTackling the fear of crime is a key priority for West Mercia police, according to its chief constable as he took to the streets of Shropshire.

Paul West pounded the beat in Whitchurch with Constable Tony Jones yesterday. During his visit, Mr West said his officers were working hard to “bridge the gap” between people’s perception of crime and actual crime

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“It’s different interpretations of what crime is,” he said.

“Young kids do hang around in groups and, if they have got nothing to do, they hang around where it’s sheltered.

“It’s about trying to educate them as to the impact their presence can have, or the signals it can send out, or if they are shouting and swearing, that it’s not very nice.”

He said it was churlish to tell people their view of crime was wrong and they should not worry.

Mr West said: “The challenge for us is to try and bridge the gap between what is absolute reality and what their perceptions are and that’s not just an issue in Whitchurch, or Shropshire, or West Mercia, that’s a thing police are struggling with nationwide.

“The reality is crime has been reducing and it certainly is in West Mercia.

“I think if you ask a member of the public ‘what do you think about crime around here’, the general lay interpretation of crime is actually very different to ours.

“It’s well recognised these are the things that do concern people and these are the things that fuel their fears.”

By Deborah Collins

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This article was posted on July 2, 2008 at 11:50 am.
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2 Comments

  1. Phil said: Jul 2nd, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    Wishy washing PC Police language

    “officers were working hard to “bridge the gap” between people’s perception of crime and actual crime”

    In other words anything which involves his officers dooing actual work in cracking down on anti social behaviour is not crime

    but anything easy such as mobile speed checks is a crime.

    I wish the Police chiefs of this country would get real - The man on the street will no longer put up with anti social behaviour on the streets

    Aas soon as we adopt a NO tolerance policing the better for this country

  2. Bemused of Dawley said: Jul 2nd, 2008 at 5:51 pm

    Tend to agree with Phil - I think all chief consatbles should look in the mirror and ask themselves the question -

    If the postion of Chief Constable was made at the ballot box by the local residents would I be in a job?

    For most I think the answer is NO you would not.

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