EVESHAM’S senior police chief has said policing needs a review in it’s entirety as officers may get ‘tied up’ on something the public doesn’t want.
Sgt Phil Stayte has said the last full review into what the police’s responsibilities should be was carried out in the 1970s and would welcome a new one.
The police chief’s comments come at a time when the nature of crime is changing, with online fraud and cybercrime on the rise.
As forces have to become better equipped to deal with new threats that have emerged since the last review, Sergeant Stayte told the Observer the world has completely changed since the 1970s.
“I think policing needs a review in its entirety. I think the last review on policing was in the 1970s and the world’s a different place,” Sgt Stayte said.
“The 70s was like a world away; it was like living on mars, it was wholly different. The whole psyche was different, the whole perspective on life was different, and it was an entirely different world.
“In the 70s if you were to sit there and think what the police are about; you project that 40 years further down the line, we’ve moved on leaps and bounds.
Sgt Stayte, who has been head of Evesham’s Safer Neighbourhood team since 2007, also suggested a fresh review would help officers to understand want the public wants from their police force in today’s world.
“I don’t necessarily think anybody has said whoa stop a moment, lets just see now what the police should be doing, what they can do, what they can afford to do, what’s in the public interest and what the public want us to do because sometimes we might get tied up by thinking the public want one thing and they might want something totally different,” he added.
“But no, I wouldn’t have a problem with a review on what the police are and what their responsibilities are at all, I would welcome it in fact.”
