Duty police officers committed to spirit of Remembrance

From: Colin Taylor, Chief Superintendent, Chief of Staff, North Yorkshire Police .

ReGARDING your story “Police stay away from Harrogate Remembrance service because they haven’t been trained how to march” (Yorkshire Post website, November 11), over the past few years police officers from Harrogate have, on a volunteer basis, arranged to take part as a marching contingent in the Harrogate Sunday Remembrance Day parades.

This was unique within North Yorkshire and the City of York and those taking part were proud to do so. This year due to retirements and officers working commitments, there was insufficient numbers to form a separate contingent. However, a number of those who had previously formed the police contingent marched with the British Legion. North Yorkshire Police was also represented at the ceremony by Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Tim Madgwick and Acting Superintendent Barry Smith, the Harrogate safer neighbourhood area commander, and 29 officers and PCSOs were on duty to support the occasion.

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Across the force area almost 200 officers and staff were on duty and involved in the Sunday parades, in addition to many off duty who attended ceremonies.

Readers will make their own minds up as to whether the men and women of North Yorkshire Police are committed to this day of national memorial, but I have no doubts about this commitment.

I and many of my colleagues are disappointed by aspects of the media who chose to sensationalise the issues without looking into the actual facts of the case: again, I will let the reader come to their own conclusions regarding this.

Having worked with the officers who formed the marching contingent, I am sure there is every intention to march in 2012 if operational matters permit.

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From: Peter A Ellis, Patterdale Drive, Dalton, Huddersfield.

I refer to your article, “Debt of honour”, (Yorkshire Post, November 14), where you say that there are many who question why British troops continue to forfeit their lives in service of their country. You also say that our troops are in daily combat, really, what basis is there to arrive at such a conclusion?

The question that is not being answered is what are our forces actually doing in a land thousands of miles away which obviously poses no threat to these shores?

Isn’t it time to dispel the myth once and for all that Britain is at war in Afghanistan, at war with whom and why. Their is no hard evidence to substantiate such a claim. Certainly an obscene amount of our money continues to be lavished on some kind of enterprise in this faraway place, but surely by now it is obvious to anyone of average intelligence that whatever is occurring has nothing to do with any kind of conflict.

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Yes our Government and the media have done their utmost to convince us that deploying large numbers of personal in Afghanistan was necessary, but as the notorious expenses scandal proved our politicians tend to be rather economical with the truth!

On the one hand we are told that we are in a recession and that cutbacks in vital services are inevitable, on the other billions of pounds are being squandered in a foreign land that is not connected to Britain in anyway and plainly the whole venture is a total waste of time and valuable resources which apparently this country can ill afford. Doesn’t add up does it?

Surely instead of our forces being seconded away on some obscure foreign fancy, shouldn’t they be used to patrol our streets so that we can once again move around in safety when and where we please choose night or day, for as we well know, due to the fact that our so-called police force have all but deserted us, we currently are not able to do so!