Police priorities

THE fight against crime will only be won with effective communication between the police and the public that they serve – irrespective of whether this is done by foot patrols, detectives going the extra mile to help victims or by the increased use of Blackberry smartphones to help officers on the beat.

Yet, while South Yorkshire Police’s decision to equip 3,000 officers with BlackBerry smartphones was driven by the best of intentions, it defies belief that no one thought through practical issues – like whether the keyboard buttons were sufficiently large enough – before £2m of Home Office money was spent on this venture.

The force is not alone – West Yorkshire Police is scaling back its Blackberry use because many were not used while the Police Federation has observed, correctly, that mobile  phone technology is becoming obsolete very quickly.

Yet, while social media  such as Twitter can help police to reach out to the public quickly and effectively, there is still no substitute for the reassurance provided by the traditional bobby on the beat. Just think how many more police patrols could have been carried out in Sheffield – and elsewhere – if £2m had not been frittered away like this.