IT is a little sad to see such hostility between some of your letter writers and the police, as though the police enjoyed thwarting them at every turn. The police case, of course, is that they too would like to have more officers on the streets, more stations open for longer, etc, but have not enough money to do these things. Some of your correspondents doubt this, putting the blame on inefficiency and bad selection of priorities, in effect wastage of resources.

From my fairly close contact with the police, looking especially at the way officers are tied up with paperwork every time they take action, I believe they are as much victims as are the apparently neglected members of the public.

But what I find most odd is the seeming contempt directed towards the Police and Community Consultative meetings, where senior officers give an account of their progress, their problems and goals. They do this openly, to anyone who wishes to attend. They never did this sort of thing when I was young; visitors from more repressive countries would find it astonishing. Yet this is all dismissed as some kind of window dressing.

Perhaps those who have become disenchanted thought that they were being given executive powers to run the Force their way. It is not a democracy, it never could be a democracy, by very definition it is a Force. But talking and listening are essential parts of working together, and those who abandon dialogue in favour of monologue (even through your Letters columns) are far less likely to achieve results. – Mike Pearce, chairperson, West Glos Neighbourhood Watch Association.