SIR - Much had been written lately, about the demise of West Mercia Police force, if the present government goes ahead and merges it into a super regional police force.
Far be it for me to criticise the excellent service that our police provides. However, the days of Dixon of Dock Green type of policing seized when the ubiquitous Police Panda Car appeared on the scene, 30 or 40 years ago.
With the advent of CCTV, the use of information technology and the increase in private security companies, it was supposed to free our policemen from their desks and put them back into our communities.
Nothing could have been further from the truth, because apart from the wailing of police sirens, as they speed through our suburbs and neighbourhoods, seeing a policeman on foot is a rarity. For the last six or eight years, it has been the standard practise that when victims call the police to report a theft or damage, invariably the victims are given a crime number to pass on to their insurance company. Also getting in touch with the local area police officer is usually via the answer machine. So before the EU sceptics jump on the bandwagon once more and blaming Brussels for the lack of community policing, let us get our own house in order, first!
L SPITERI,
Worcester.
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