Police investigating another armed robbery on Canvey (From Basildon Recorder)

Hope the person is ok. Must be very scary working in a shop on Canvey these days x

How come everyone knew this was going to happen once the police were removed from the base there except those who should have known. The road off is better now thanks to the silly isles so there's a fast escape now.

Nick mate Think about the 20% cut in Police budget!

That will not help your cause.

Brunning999 wrote:
Nick mate Think about the 20% cut in Police budget!

That will not help your cause.

prey tell was you rejected by the police selection process for being too small

another council tax payer wrote:

Brunning999 wrote:
Nick mate Think about the 20% cut in Police budget!

That will not help your cause.

prey tell was you rejected by the police selection process for being too small

whats more is Nick even reading this....probably not.

Just read that 2 youths were seen running through local school grounds by the shop and got into a waiting cab, mins before police turned up. Coincidence?

where's the new Police Commisioner?

I suppose he's still doing the round of celebratory bun fights with all his cosy Tory Council mates

With regards to our local PCC will he really be able to improve things for us? until the Police station is re opened and with a visible police presence 24 hours a day this epedemic of anti social behaviour and robberies will continue. Remember we only have one full time 24 hour emergency service on the Island and that is the NHS Ambulance service.
What interests me is the fundamental contradiction made by the Home Office in their rather desperate sales pitch of the farce elections for the Police Crime Commisioner:
Look at this:
"PCCs will make and influence key decisions that will impact on how your local area looks and feels – from CCTV, street lighting and graffiti to tackling gangs and drug-dealing:

And now, on the same Home Office website, contrast with this statement:

"It will not be for the PCC to tell the professionals how to do their job - the legislation continues to protect the operational independence of the police by making it clear that the chief constables retain direction and control of the forces officers and staff. The operations of the police will not be politicised; who is arrested and how investigations work will not become political decisions.

So the is out of the bag, and the question we have to be asking is; how does a PCC tackle gangs and drug-dealing, robberies, anti social behaviour if they are not allowed to tell the police how to do theur job and are not allowed to influence who is arrested?

The answer is, they can’t. They can let the police know what the public want, but probably no more effectively than the letters pages of the Echo, and with probably less votes than people who read it. They can ignore the rules by threatening to sack the Chief Constable if he or she doesn’t do as they are told, and therefore exert indirect influence on how the police do their job and who is arrested.
Make no mistake, the PCC experiment is not about saving money. It is costing money. PCCs do not represent the introduction of local democracy to policing. They represent a retreat in local democracy; at the moment, about 9 of the 17 police authority members are elected, under the new system it will be 1 elected person. It seems that the only way the hapless amateur will be able to influence the police in any way is to threaten to sack the Chief.
So Mr alston i urge yo:u will you make and influence key decisions that will impact on how our local area looks and feels?
I wait with baited breath............