The thinning blue line

THE warning from the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, Sir Norman Bettison, that cuts to police funding may compromise his force’s ability to contain and stamp out public disorder is both sobering and timely. It is only a year ago that significant areas of England were left shocked and searching for answers after a wave of rioting caused widespread destruction and even deaths.

Thankfully, Yorkshire escaped the worst of the disorder, principally because the police moved with a swiftness and decisiveness that had been lacking in London to nip incidents in Leeds and Huddersfield in the bud before they could develop into widespread trouble. Yet in order to react quickly and firmly in such circumstances requires sufficient personnel, and it is inescapable that forces which are being required to lose many hundreds of officers to meet cuts of 20 per cent in their budgets cannot provide the same service once they are gone.

It is possible to detect a growing sense of unease amongst the general public about the cuts being imposed upon our police service. A Conservative-led administration ought to be able to look voters in the eye and proclaim that it stands for law and order and is a friend of the police. Disturbingly, this Government is in no position to do so. The oft-repeated claims of Home Secretary Theresa May that vast numbers of front line officers can be cut without diminishing the service that the police provide are unconvincing, flying as they do in the face of both warnings from chief officers and, frankly, common sense.

She would do well to heed what Sir Norman has to say. The riots of last year blighted and disfigured communities, and the scars they left will take many years to heal. It is profoundly to be hoped that none of this region’s forces are faced with widespread disorder this year or any other. There is, however, always the potential for trouble to spring up without warning, as it has from time to time in this county in the past. The thin blue line is already precariously slender; imposing further cuts is folly. If, as a consequence, our towns and cities are left vulnerable, Mrs May and her colleagues will pay at the ballot box at the next election.