Zero hour

ONE of the most remarkable aspects of the rioting which scarred this country last week was the way in which the police and criminal-justice system worked so effectively once thousands of extra officers were on the streets and the courts made efforts to impose tough sentences.

The first three nights of rioting, however, in which violence and looting spread across England, told a different story. Officers’ reluctance to use force, their woeful lack of numbers, and their failure to make arrests even when faced with flagrant criminal activity, suggested that the police need to learn lessons quickly.

It is therefore hard to understand the hostility of Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, towards David Cameron’s decision to turn to America’s so-called supercop, Bill Bratton, for advice on implementing a zero-tolerance approach. Sir Hugh’s suggestion that the British model of policing is far superior to those of other countries speaks of a dangerous complacency which has been shown up by last week’s events.

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There are, of course, many differences between American and British crime, but it is frankly incomprehensible to insist that there is nothing to be learned from a man who, as New York City police chief, oversaw a huge reduction in crime rates. It should also be remembered that zero-tolerance policing has worked in this country, too, notably in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool under former officer Ray Mallon, now Middlesbrough’s mayor.

It may well be that zero-tolerance is not the cure- all for crime that some of its advocates claim, but there is enough evidence for its success to suggest that Mr Bratton’s advice is worth listening to, at the very least.

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