When the police come-a-calling

It was announced today that Bexley police are to visit every home in the borough in an effort to reduce crime and raise awareness.

As reported over at the Evening Standard:

Safer Neighbourhood Teams are planning to visit every home in Bexley in a year. Officers will knock on doors and introduce themselves to residents to ask if they have problems with crime or anti-social behaviour.

Summing up this enterprise, Inspector Toby Noar said: “We want to give every resident the chance to speak directly to police on issues that concern them."

While at first glance I couldn’t help but feel that this was a bona fide attempt to restore a sense of community and order in our fragmented society – waking from my naive slumbers, an image came to mind of our Safer Neighbourhood Teams gracing one’s abode with biscuits, tea and a reassuring presence – then demanding a sample of their host's saliva! 

Before you accuse me of naked cynicism, there is, I believe, a sinister undercurrent to most government-related practices these days. In some cases, it’s just outright complacency; in others, an alarming lack of decency; and at times, it’s frankly unsettling.

One thing is certain, there is a definite pattern of proposals or practices which are introduced under the guise of an ‘apparently’ much needed piece of legislation, and before we know it, have transformed into something highly dubious and intrusive.  

As an example, one only need think of the response of Anton Setchell, national co-ordinator for domestic extremism for Acpo, to questions about the collection of innocent people’s DNA:

"Just because you have no criminal record does not mean that you are not of interest to the police," he said. "Everyone who has got a criminal record did not have one once."

While Big Brother Watch fully endorses the efforts of Bexley's Safer Neighbourhood Teams to get to know the people they are protecting, we hope they aren't taking lessons from Mr Setchell.

By Edward Hockings 

Comments

[Richard]

This is bang out of order. It's exactly what we do want. I am more than happy to talk to a 21st century version of PC Dixon (of Dock Green - do a Google, youngsters).

[Denny]

The Government don't get that public services are only supposed to be there for when you need them. It is (I think) a common wish that one never needs to call the police, fire or ambulance service, and that one spends as little time in a hospital as possible. And yet they're now pushing all these into our lives. Even if one's well, law-abiding and not a victim of crime, they'll be intruding into one's life.

It is, for me, an aspiration that I'll never need to call the police and that they'll never call me; instead I guess they'll be popping 'round for a cuppa.

[Gareth]

Richard,

Let us hope you're not expecting a child and halfway through some decorating then:

Pregnant woman reported to social services over half-decorated home

http://tinyurl.com/yjb7mwo

"A pregnant woman has condemned police after they reported her to social services for being a potentially unfit mother because her home was half-decorated."

[Susan]

I saw last night on American TV a documentary series about the Catholic Church's Inquisition, two episodes, one about when they killed all the Cathars in France and a second when they went after heretics (the old-fashioned term for the non-politically-correct non-party-member non-believers) in Spain. In all instances, based on the actual testimonies and history files as released by the Vatican in the late 1990s, it appears they were most thorough in rounding up ALL citizens in the villages and cities they went into and repeatedly making sure they questioned down to the very detailed level of every aspect of each citizen's life, so enough contradictory evidence could be acquired to make sure the ones they eventually determined to be the least politically-correct could be prosecuted beyond the shadow of a doubt and then burned at the stake or killed off in some other grueseome manner. In all these towns and cities, when the Inquisition moved in with all their scribes, torturers, prosecutors, etc., there was an initial surge in the volume of "good citizens" who showed up at their doorstep voluntarily upfront before being subpoenied, to be sure to blab away on all their friends, relatives and neighbors in the most contrived manner possible, with the hope of course that the upcoming state show trials meant to do away with any dissidence among the people would deflect any attention away from themselves. Bear in mind, the approach was most successful and went on for centuries in this manner, making certain dictatorial rule by the political elite was never again challenged, a perfect example of what we see today by way of modern political enforcement upon the people. The police going door to door and making certain the full power and intrusion capabilities of the state is well felt is just more of the same, picking up now where the Inquisition left off, some 1,000 years earlier.

[Steve]

My experience so far of the Charing Cross Safer Neighbourhoods Team, has been to leave a leaflet about them, sticking out of my letterbox, advertising to all and sundry that I'm not at home. First happened a couple of months ago and I made a complaint about the stupidity of it. Happened again yesterday, mae another complaint and I was told that they would put a notice on the wall at the Police Station. I asked if that note would be telling officers to use common sense!

[Ashtrayhead]

I live in Bexley borough and really don't see what this will achieve except to put a tick in some 'up and coming' coppers CV to say that he's introduced community policing initiatives and emptied the canteen of PCSO's.

[LeChiffre]

More police snooping. With the inevitable mission creep, the visit to your home by Plod will become an annual event but if you're not in then, ok see you next year. After a year or two, the once voluntary visit will become compulsory and if you're not in then you will receive a fixed penalty notice requiring you to make and keep an appointment for Plod to snoop around your home failing which you will have to pay a fine or go to prison or both (if you don't keep the appointment you may also be charged with wasting police time and face a fine or imprisonment or both). When the police visit you at home you will have to prove your identity to Plod's satisfaction (yes even in your own home) so preferably you should make sure you've got a valid passport or ID card if your passport's expired. When the police visit you at home they may ask for a guided tour of your residence (for instance to check for any rooms which may not be adequately decorated according to ACPO guidelines) and if you refuse you may be arrested under anti-terrorism legislation with your DNA and fingerprints harvested and retained for life. Well done Bexley police for bringing this one forward: you're part of the Met so we can count on you to be the vanguard when it come to Stasidom.

[sikiş]

My experience so far of the Charing Cross Safer Neighbourhoods Team, has been to leave a leaflet about them, sticking out of my letterbox, advertising to all and sundry that I'm not at home.