Police not preventing crimes
I enjoyed reading the letter by Michael Wilkinson explaining how it would have been impossible for Noah to have built his Ark in today's Britain due to bureaucracy.
It makes the point that bureaucratic systems are destroying the purpose and function of organisations.
Last Tuesday I was walking past the magistrates court in Telford Town Centre, where a large number of young people had gathered, and I saw a young lady picking up pansies and throwing them at her friends.
I considered my three options. Option one was to confront the girl. However I'm 76 years old and have had a stroke and the outcome I thought would be abuse or even assault.
My second option was to phone the police, but I thought they would say they were too busy to attend the crime scene, due to their typing and clerical commitments.
My third option was to simply glare at the girl and walk away - this I did.
I then read that, according to police spokeswoman Kate Tonge, only 30 per cent of police time is spent on clerical duties.
I would therefore like to invite Kate Tonge to reply to this letter and explain why we never see any police patrolling our streets. I do see the occasional police car with two policemen admiring the scenery.
The police have two functions - not only to solve crime, but also to prevent it.
Whenever I read about a crime being committed, the police always appeal for information. I never read about the police approaching the criminal as he commits the crime.
I'm sure a criminal would think twice about committing a crime if he thought a policeman was just around the corner.
R Greenaway, Madeley
