The Police thought they would say that YOB CULTURE is out of control and only 25% of crime is reported in order to justify no cuts......

The Media have reported the story as "Useless Police" and John O Connor on SKY NEWS is being quoted as saying it is poor leadership in the Police that is to blame.

Sky News on TV is reporting that the Police should stop ticketing motorists and deal with the real problems.

So this latest idea has spectacularly turned into an own goal.

The Police Spin Doctors are desperate to save their own jobs with these almost daily Press Briefings of how badly they are needed.

The FIRST CUTS in the Police should be the MEDIA SPIN DOCTORS. Each force should only have ONE press officer and they should only report on facts.

In the MET area we had to put up with daily "THEY ARE GOING TO BOMB YOU" stories fro 2001 until around 2008 when finally they realised that apart from 7.7 and the failed car bomb plot the terrorists seemed to enjoy bombing the new regime in Iraq more than coming to the UK. In London a bomb would probably kill more foreigners in many areas according to stats than British citizens with tourists and EU workers now making up most of the population in central London in any case.

So after the POPE PLOT FIASCO we now have YOBGATE - both failed Police actions and spun by the press officers which have backfired.

The Police should stop playing politics and get on with their job and make the public SEE with their own eyes that they are needed. At the moment the Public do not see that.

you are right there BR.

police media spin doctors should go.

They could always get a job promoting soapie stars..they're pretty good a conjuring up a good tale out of very little !

POLICE NUMBERS

In 2006

Police officers: 133,775
Police Community Support Officers: 8,133
Other staff: 70,818

Yet there were probably HALF this number in the 1970s when Police were on the beat and visible.

Modern policing methods including CCTV should mean a smaller Police force ( The Army for instance is now much smaller ) Yet their number has kept on going up as they have disappeared from our streets.

The POLICE needs to be re-organised into local units who patrol the area on foot ( as well as car ) and not just be reactive with blue lights going. They could well be ON THE SPOT like they were in the past.

The last 30 years has seen the POLICE become useless as a crime fighting force. Preferring to pick on soft targets like motorists and historic child abuse rather than dealing with the growing violence on the streets. The Stabbing culture that killed loads of teenagers in the last few years has grown because the Police have given up the streets - preferring to sit in offices pretending to be teenage girls in chat rooms......crazy.

Cut the money and change the culture. That is what is needed.