The Death of Community Policing: Our Broken Judiciary System (Policing Changes in the Modern Era)

Since 1950, police officers lived on housing estates and were required to police them thus building up a rapport with their communities which aided the prevention and detection of crime.
In the mid-1960s, some were issued with panda cars to become more mobile and their police houses were sold, if not to sitting tenants, then on the open market. Then, during the 1980s police officers were allowed to buy their own houses.
It is this situation which the author, Brian Humphreys suggests contributed to the lowering of the confidence and respect given to the police in more modern times. Little effort was given to 'Crime Prevention' with their absence gave way to criminality resulting in police subsequently only responding to crimes committed instead of preventing them.
Whilst supporting the modern police service in the opposition of divisiveness, discrimination, misogyny, racism and the many other aspects sometimes regarded as 'Politically Incorrect' or ‘Wokism’, he suggests that more effort is now being expended on those matters than the primary objectives of crime prevention and detection and the maintenance of peace which police officers are challenged with.
In relation to recruitment, he is vehemently against the idea of only accepting those who possess degrees or who study to obtain one as police apprentices. He alleges this recent policy offends the long held principle of our police being a microcosm of society and will bring unrest to those recruits and the society they police. He is also hits hard at chief officers who promise to return to community policing, yet demonstrate little evidence of this happening particularly because all police officers now in office, will have no experience at all of working with that concept.
Brian also hits hard at the political interference now apparent in policing with the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) who, with a power to sack Chief Constables, replaced Police Authorities in 2012 who had previously represented all areas of that policed by each police force. He suggests these politically supported PCCs have caused the gagging of Chief Police Officers who are now fearful of speaking out which might cause their commissioners to refuse to renew their contracts. Their organisations have now grown to large proportions representing an impact on police budgets and hence council tax payers for no increase in efficiency.
He also criticises the reluctance of Chief Officers to have arrested those activists who criminally damage statues of our historical heroes and who disrupt our lives by blocking motorways. He also wonders why our police and other emergency services appeared reluctant to immediately assist those members of the public who went to the aide of the injured at the Manchester Bombing.
Crime rates are on the increase and detection rates are now at their lowest. In that context, having dwelled on the corruption which existed in the force many years ago and the measures placed which have kerbed them, Brian suggests that the time is now right to have some aspects of them reviewed, particular those having a negative effect on the battle against crime, such as the time restrictions imposed for holding suspects prior to charging them which is often insufficient for adequate inquiries to be completed and due to their release, sometimes affords them opportunities to commit more crime and interfere with evidence. That, together with the involvement of Crown Prosecutors now dictating the process of charging and evidence gathering has caused a dearth of officers now willing to become members of the Criminal Investigation Department and having to advertise for direct entry into the CID.
In discussing many other aspects of his discontent with modern day policing, Brian holds no punches and speaks with an open mindedness and a heart which current police professionals might do well to study.