The One That Is Concerned. . .

A bad day for our police.

I hate saying things about the police on here. I have worked with a large number of police officers in the past and I have always found the vast, vast majority of them to be hard working people who really do want to make a positive influence on their community and catch and lock up the bad guys. If only the people at the top would leave them to police according to the Peelian Principles, then I think everyone would be much happier.

Firstly, a LimpDem study has criticised the tactics employed at the Kingsnorth Powerstation protest in Kent last year. I don't subscribe to the views of the protesters, but absolutely support their right to shout and jump up and down about it. When information about wasp stings and sunstroke being reported as injuries and protesters having their crayons and clown costumes confiscated hits the media, it just looks a bit twattish.

Secondly, there was this poor old sod who found himself face down on the M25 with a gun at his head in a case of mistaken identity following a robbery.

Mr Demeni, 44, who is Kurdish, said there were about 20 police cars involved in the incident, and at least 10 officers with machine guns.

A police helicopter circled overhead with a searchlight directed on him, he said.

"The whole motorway was with flashing lights and there was police pointing a gun," added Mr Demeni, who lives in Arundel Avenue.

OK, robbery is bad. But all that kit for £200? Come on, someone fairly senior must have authorised that. Once again the PC on the front line looks a wazzock, but he's not paid to make the decisions like deployment of aircraft.

And finally there is the case of Victor Anichebe, the young Everton striker (who is of Nigerian descent) who was stopped with his mate (who was cuffed) for the heinous offence of looking into a jeweller's shop window. A case of a bad bit of front line policing there. But perhaps if the officers involved were sent on policing courses rather than diversity and community cohesion outreach programmes, things like that wouldn't happen so much.

*Sigh*