Alienation.

There seems to be change in the air in the way that police and public relate to one another. The cases of the SO19 men and the man with the table leg, Huntley and other incidents such as the Pro-Hunt demo in Westminster have been perceived as less than effective service. Some of the problem is manifestly incorrect as in speed cameras where the police really have little involvement. Their apparent invisibility in residential areas and chav areas of towns is also not their fault but is a political consequence. The forthcoming G8 meeting will doubtless lead to more disaffection – ignorant or otherwise. There will be Met officers involved and, just as in the long-ago Miners Strike, they will deal with the crowd rather differently than a bobby from Duns.
I have also been thinking of the effects of political correctness. One does not now refer to a Police Force. The connotations of the word ‘Force’ are deemed offensive and it has been replaced by ‘Service’. Some of the other p.c. terms for p.c’s centre on the supposed offensiveness of the word ‘black’ (blackmail, black day etc.) Because of all this, I kept my eyes peeled as good old PC Dixon would say and came across this. It is American but, if anything that makes it somehow more honest and realistic. I believe that America is further along the road of dealing with this problem than we are. This item includes the alienation situation. Anyways, this is what I found:
"Hello Fred,
Let me start out by saying it's nice to have someone who is interested on an officer's point of view on race issues. I have always felt underrepresented, in law enforcement issues, as far as the media is concerned.
"For the past [several] years I have served as a patrol officer for the Prince George's County Police. Although I'm not exactly sure why it matters, I'm an African American officer. I am not a life long resident of Prince George's County. I grew up in the South, [a state]. You would think, coming from the South, I would be used to dealing with race issues. Not true. I am fortunate to have had parents that instilled in me the sense of right and wrong rather than black and white.
"I am not naive enough to suggest that there aren't racial problems within my department. The department's efforts in dealing with race relations among citizens and officers are a farce. I've heard more from commanders about what type of footwear is authorized than dealing with different cultures. The racial sensitivity classes that we attended were a waste of time.
"Don't get the impression that I am a disgruntled employee with an axe to grind. I am actually very proud of what I do and I work with some of the finest officers in the country; but things could be better. I conduct a great deal of traffic enforcement so I have a great deal of contact with the public. I can understand how a white officer feels when he is accused of racial profiling because I too am frequently accused of it. I am also accused of being a sell-out, Uncle Tom, and a few other choice phrases that I will spare you the pain of hearing.
"I have been a black man for all of my life, or at least as long as I can remember and yet my "blackness" is challenged. But, I have 20/20 vision and I can clearly see the real issue. It's not race. The real issue is individuals not wanting to face responsibility for their actions. I have been accused of doing ungodly things by individuals attempting to avoid facing up to their actions. It's unfortunate that the potency of legitimate injustices is diluted by lies and rhetoric.
"The department's reaction to the new anti-police climate is to stifle its officers with policies and procedures that don't do anyone any good. For example their latest policy is to prohibit officers from arresting traffic violators refusing to acknowledge receipt of the citation. The Maryland Transportation Article requires that an individual sign a receipt of a traffic violation as a promise to appear in court, not as an admission of guilt. If an individual doesn't sign the citation the officer cannot offer evidence that the subject before the court was the subject issued the violation, making even harder to obtain convictions in traffic court. We are the only agency in Maryland that I know of, to have this policy. Further more the Transportation Article clearly gives an officer the authority to make an arrest when an individual refuses to sign his name.
"I find that commanders and supervisors discourage proactive policing. I know officers who have actually been called into a commander's office and threatened to be transferred if another citizen called the district station and complained about getting a traffic ticket.
"I remember as rookie officer being told by a senior officer that I would learn a hard lesson about proactive policing. I thought he was crazy. There was once a time when I looked down upon those officers who didn't routinely make arrests or issue traffic citations. Now I join their ranks. I simply don't care anymore. [Note the foregoing sentence. It's what more and more cops are telling me. Fred] I'm not proud of it, but I can live with it. It's really a shame. It's hard to believe that I once thought I could make a difference. Because I believe the administration I work for to be petty and vindictive, I urge you to conceal my identity in any public reference to the letter. Thank you."
This comes from if anyone wants more.

I recently went off on one about personal decoration and people having bits of metal stuck on their eyeballs. Despite having written about it, the idea stuck with me and I started to wonder just how far some people would go. In my youth (sorry, there are not many other ways of saying that), tattoos were not so widespread as today. The idea of a skin-painted woman did not exist outside the freak-show of a fairground. My mind seems to suggest that the works of those days were more extensive, colourful and more appropriate than today. Whilst I was in Gibraltar, I saw a Royal Marine who had the classical Fox Hunt across his back with all the participants fully detailed save the fox. A fox brush was shown in the crack of his buttocks showing where the animal presumably had gone to ground. Something I did find on googling was what I consider quite barbarous. Regardless of the claimed benefits in one’s social life; I could never contemplate this sort of adornment. All very well being a Prince but what happens on those occasions when he becomes King Cobra? I’m a bit surprised that such a feature has not been introduced to Big Brother or Love Island. It would add to the speculation of will they or won’t they?

Two-tone man Darling has come up with what seems to me to be a suicide note for his party. As a class, British drivers (well, certainly the English element) are amongst the most bolshy in the world. They will put up with a lot but his daft proposals must surely be that straw on the camel's back. Apart from the technical side of it, it seems unenforceable. There will certainly be exemptions for visitors so if I am still ambling about the lanes at, say, 82, all I have to do is go and buy a car in Ireland and use it here. I would be a bit upset if the system recorded my car being parked overnight alongside the zimmer frame of some 86 year old hot pants pensioner in Kelso. It seems that the planning for this was tucked away in paragraph 9 million on page God knows where on their manifesto but certainly in Yes Minister speak rather than the detailed plans now available so soon after the election.

Of course, if the Tory Party cannot get it's act together, it will not benefit from the duplicity of B Liar and his cohorts. This does not look like much of a start though
The Times reports that "a wide-ranging group of rising Conservative stars" will claim today that the party needs emergency treatment if it is to win power again. Conservative voters are getting older, less well educated and less aspirational, the group of two dozen MPs, MEPs and election candidates from across the party will say. "The Conservative Party’s position is more perilous than many people think, and we should not be misled by the number of seats won," a member of the group told the paper. The group, so far unnamed, met in secret to produce a pamphlet called "Direct Democracy: An Agenda for a New Model Party". It aims to create a policy debate alongside the process of choosing Michael Howard's successor.
In an interview in the Guardian, Tory industry spokesman David Willetts says the party must recognise that "there is more to life than economics" and offer a broader agenda.

The recent Cabinet reshuffle got rid of TCH (That c*** Hoon) who was replaced by Ingram. Opinion amongst the rude and brutal was that this was a good selection and a welcome choice after the machinations of TCH. However, it now seems that he is really just a politician at heart anyway. His approach to the question of Scottish regiments seems to leave much to be desired. What is it the French mutter in their dark and despicable way - plus ca change c'est la meme chose or somesuch. (Libby will know!!)