The Metropolis

LibDem mayoral candidate might not care about trains, but at least he's got policing down

Mike Pollitt | Wednesday 8 February, 2012 11:41

On Monday Brian Paddick said something silly about trains not really being that important.

Well, today it’s crime day in the Mayoral election campaign, and he’s on much safer ground. We’ve already had Ken Livingstone’s crimey new video and now Paddick has a piece up at the Guardian.

Paddick’s is much the better contribution, since it attempts an analysis of policing which goes beyond the “more police good, fewer police bad” rhetoric of Livingstone. Here’s the key passage:

While those on the right call for plastic bullets and water cannons and those on the left blame cuts by the coalition government, we are missing a crucial point: the authority of the police is no longer accepted by an increasingly large number of people. Unless this position is reversed, nearly two centuries of policing by consent – where the public agree to co-operate with the police and actively support them – will have to be abandoned.

It’s not just about how many police there are, it’s about how they police us. Under Bernard Hogan-Howe there’s been some welcome talk of refocussing stop and search, and some less welcome talk about tasers in every police car. This is where the debate should be. The numbers of police aren’t irrelevant, but they aren’t the only story in town.

Kudos to Paddick for raising this. He might not give a shit about the trains, but when crime and policing is at issue at least he’s in the game.

Brian Paddick at the Guardian – London is increasingly policed by force not consent – thanks to its mayors
Snipe – London’s trains don’t really matter, LibDem mayoral candidate declares
Snipe – Ken Livingstone’s crime campaign video
Snipe – The Met’s stop and search webchat digested
Snipe – Why a taser in every police car is a bad idea

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