Trouble on the buses

MUCH has been heard from the coalition Government about the need for all Britons to share the pain in the new age of austerity. It is debatable, however, whether deploying volunteer police officers on public transport was quite what David Cameron had in mind when he talked about the spending cuts changing the country.

The plan for South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) to send its own staff to work as volunteer bobbies on buses and trams could create as many practical problems as it solves financial ones. Will special constables be drawn into other incidents, such as fights? A volunteer would not want to simply carry on with the journey if a member of the public needed urgent help, but nor could they realistically divert a vehicle to the scene of a crime.

It is no doubt well-intentioned, but SYPTE's plan risks confusion and danger for people travelling on their buses and trams. Most passengers can recount having seen bad behaviour on public transport, particularly late at night when alcohol and passions have been running high, and tackling this requires skills that could be lacking in a volunteer. This is why the presence of regular police is so important.

As David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary and Yorkshire MP points out today, the increase in the number of special constables earlier in the decade came when the uniformed force was also growing. Volunteers can supplement the work of regular officers but cannot replace them.

Of course, the transport authority has been forced into a series of tough financial decisions because Britain is so short of money. Savings have to be made while protecting frontline services, particularly because so many poor, elderly and vulnerable people depend on them.

What is being proposed by South Yorkshire Police, however, underlines some of the difficulties inherent in the new system. Superintendent Eddie Murphy's vision of "everyone jumping on board and helping" does not sound like 21st century policing.

There is a place for special constables, particularly as Britain comes to terms with painful budget cuts, but safety should be left to the professionals. Anything else could be a false economy.