The standard of policing has been described as “catastrophic” by a former Scotland Yard detective.
Peter Bleksley told GB News that many senior police leaders were failing and that the public were being let down.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Bleksley told Dawn Neesom: “The state of British policing is now quite frankly, so catastrophic in many regards. And that's borne out by the number of police services that are in special measures.
“And quite frankly, some senior police leadership, which actually sanctions and embraces waving flags, painting police cars, and this other kind of nonsense, need to realise this has nothing to do with the fundamental core aspects of policing.
“That’s keeping the streets safe, preventing crime and when crime is committed, investigating it.”
Commenting on figures that emerged yesterday about unsolved crimes, he continued; “If anybody is in any doubt, they only need to recall yesterday's headline of 1,145,000 crimes of theft, burglary, not being investigated. That's astonishing - a million thefts unsolved
“Unfortunately, our police are doing so much social work and mental health work at the moment that they really aren't deploying the resources like they should do to the core principles of policing.
“That is part of the reason why they've got themselves into such a tangle and is a major factor in why so many people on the streets of Britain, quite frankly do not feel safe.”
Mr Bleksley’s comments come after Labour set out their plans for how they would deal with crime if they won power.
The shadow justice secretary, Steve Reed, said he will update Tony Blair’s “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” slogan and put prevention at the heart of their approach.
Reed said increasing and strengthening the use of such sentences would tackle reoffending rates and give “a voice directly to victims”.
Steve Reed, said he will update Tony Blair’s “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” slogan.
Peter Byrne
He said: “Victims will be able to select the unpaid work that offenders carry out, so victims will be seeing justice done.”
Labour wants to widen the scope of community sentences work beyond tasks such as clearing wasteland, decorating community centres, repairing churches and removing graffiti.
It also proposes that victims sit on new community payback boards overseeing sentences and ensuring they are completed.
Reed said he wanted to update Blair’s 1990s slogan by reviewing how to put prevention at the heart of the criminal justice system.
The review will look at how countries such as New Zealand have adopted an approach of providing specialist treatment to prevent reoffending by those living with domestic violence or parents with serious mental health problems.
Peter Bleksley joined Dawn Neesom on GB News
GB News