I spent Saturday evening out in Rugby Town Centre in order to better understand the issues the Police face at that time of day. I was met by an experienced Constable and accompanied him throughout his shift and saw many facets of policing. We made an early arrest which involved taking a young man into the Police Station where he was charged and this resulted in the need for completing the paperwork that goes with it; we sped off to one of the villages where there was a report of 20 people fighting in a pub car park; we visited the town's CCTV centre and saw the extensive coverage of the town centre; we joined other Officers at a disturbance outside a large town centre pub; and we toured around the town providing a visible presence and reporting several observations to the control centre as we did so. It was a bitterly cold evening and my impression was that this acted as a disincentive to people staying out and hanging around and perhaps led to a quieter night than might otherwise have been the case. The Officers dealt with flashpoints with discretion and no little humour, and it was pointed out to me how much people have to say when they are drunk. Generally the chat was good natured. Most people would expect me to comment that the form filling after the arrest was excessive, and I felt that was certainly the case. In my business, I tried to keep form filling and duplication to a minimum. I could see areas where this was happening with several pieces of information being recorded in many different places. There is clearly great scope for streamlining as more IT is introduced. I returned home freezing cold but with a good sense of the work our Police are doing to ensure the vast majority have a good time when they are out on a Saturday night.
Monday, 8 December 2008
Out with The Police
I spent Saturday evening out in Rugby Town Centre in order to better understand the issues the Police face at that time of day. I was met by an experienced Constable and accompanied him throughout his shift and saw many facets of policing. We made an early arrest which involved taking a young man into the Police Station where he was charged and this resulted in the need for completing the paperwork that goes with it; we sped off to one of the villages where there was a report of 20 people fighting in a pub car park; we visited the town's CCTV centre and saw the extensive coverage of the town centre; we joined other Officers at a disturbance outside a large town centre pub; and we toured around the town providing a visible presence and reporting several observations to the control centre as we did so. It was a bitterly cold evening and my impression was that this acted as a disincentive to people staying out and hanging around and perhaps led to a quieter night than might otherwise have been the case. The Officers dealt with flashpoints with discretion and no little humour, and it was pointed out to me how much people have to say when they are drunk. Generally the chat was good natured. Most people would expect me to comment that the form filling after the arrest was excessive, and I felt that was certainly the case. In my business, I tried to keep form filling and duplication to a minimum. I could see areas where this was happening with several pieces of information being recorded in many different places. There is clearly great scope for streamlining as more IT is introduced. I returned home freezing cold but with a good sense of the work our Police are doing to ensure the vast majority have a good time when they are out on a Saturday night.
