All that is left of the police station in Paignton!
Sometimes it
all too easy not to notice the metaphorical cracks creeping across the surface
of our society. That lack of notice is usually a consequence of minimal impact
upon the daily routine of our own lives. I guess that it is a little like
toothache. Toothache is very much a personal thing which soon dominates the
day. Once the pain is past the event is quickly forgotten.
I use that as
an example because whilst we may have empathy with others suffering in some way
we don’t actually feel the pain. As we rocket toward May 2015 the political
rhetoric is hotting up. Meanwhile the austerity measures in place continue to
impact and we must all be aware that increasingly the pressure in places is
reaching breaking point.
Let me give
you an example. I don’t know whether you have been aware of the changing police
landscape lately but a few things have made me want to comment. We hear about
the cuts to policing locally but perhaps fail to take on the potential dangers
lurking as a consequence. Some years ago I found a wallet on the pavement with
a considerable amount of money in it but no identification. I took the wallet
to the local police station and it was eventually reunited with its owner.
If that
happened today I would need to take it to my local police enquiry office. A
short while ago that would have been the large building in the middle of
Paignton. That very large building is now a pile of rubble in Southfield Road.
(see picture). I would therefore need
to hop on a bus and drop it off in at Torquay Police Station. Does that matter?
Well I think it does.
Whilst we see
police cars whizzing around what we might also notice is fewer police officers
walking the beat. I was chatting to a friend the other day when he suddenly
stopped and exclaimed “Gosh you don’t see that very often these days!” I look
around but didn’t immediately see what had caught his attention. “Look, over
there!” he said “Two police officers walking the beat!”
Of course
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary do provide a very nice website and if you have
easy access to a computer of mobile device it is possible to access all sorts
of information, but for me that doesn’t replace the comfort of being able to
walk into the local police station. As I say, does that matter? Well I happen
to think that it does.
As the
financial noose tightens many of the things that actually keep a community
together seem to be being eroded and it isn’t until something happens to you or
those that you love that the impact is felt. Policing is one aspect of course
and as the numbers of beat police officers fall it only has to be a matter of
time before the ‘bough breaks’. My worry is that in the words of that little
nursery rhyme ‘…down will come cradle, baby and all!’
I happened to
be at a business breakfast event the other morning with our mayor as the guest
speaker. He spoke at length about many of the good things happening locally and
about the challenges facing our community. There are indeed many good things
happening and we mustn’t lose sight of that. We also see many of the challenges
as being about reduced funding and that is a truth. At that breakfast meeting
in Torquay’s lovely Grand Hotel I made the point that it isn’t simply about the
money but HOW that money is spent.
My observation was about a photograph a
little while ago with two council officers in front of the now beleaguered
Parkfield Youth Centre. At the time we were losing numerous youth worker posts
and it made me raise an eyebrow that the combined salary of those two senior officers
was over £250,000. In all probability the two well-paid officers were worth
every penny but it does offer an interesting perspective I think.
As aspirant
national and local politicians seek your vote it might be a good time to really
think about what sort of community we really want and make that very clear to
them.
Keep the
smile!
From my column in the Herald Express 8th April 2015
