It is reported in today's Daily Telegraph that Surrey police are to make serving the public - with common sense - the priority over achieving government targets. ( A practice that was exposed in the press yesterday as leading to harassment of relatively law abiding people and ignoring hard to deal with crimes).

Surrey Police's Acting Chief Constable Mark Rowley perhaps sees the change in the wind of public mode, and soon political masters.

The article reports that Leicestershire, Staffordshire and West Midlands Police have also adopted a public first policy.

This is all to be welcomed, we rely on the professionalism and ethic of service from so many people that can't just be micromanaged with targets,

It is also a sign that the public services have less fear of Labour now and are willing to do what is good for the people without having to fear the long term impact on their careers.


We will watch these police forces with interest, as my own view is that until the Political grouping known as the ACPO is dismantled, individual forces will find it difficult to change their ever increasing totalitarian ways.




HatTip Man in a Shed