Visible police on the street, work.
I never felt unsafe in London and I never felt unsafe in New York.
New York has the most crazies, they have a lot of homeless and they make a lot of noise and come across as aggressive at times.
But there is a cop on every corner.
There is a patrol car, a series of patrol cars, seemingly permanently parked wherever you are.
They wander the street, they arrive in minutes and their sirens are too loud and too permanent. But you can't argue they don't make you feel safe.
It's the same in London. London has knife crime and the new trend is attacks from thugs on motorbikes in flash areas; they speed by and grab a watch or a hand bag.
I never saw any of it. But the reputational damage is being done.
But, once again, the cops are everywhere.
They're wandering the streets, just like they used to do here.
I can't remember the last time I saw a police officer on the streets of this country, plus their cars are hard enough to spot.
Somewhere along the line someone decided walking the beat wasn’t good policing any more. They talk of community policing but I just don’t see it.
Further, I am convinced of the power of imagery. Get a cop with a stab-proof vest and an arsenal of weaponry, whether it be a baton, handcuffs, pepper spray or a gun, and you send a message. As I've told you before, the flash shops in San Francisco have guards with guns and dogs.
God forbid we ever end up there. But I'm still reading about the ram raids and the daylight attacks here. I didn’t read about them in New York or London and I didn’t, I suspect, because a cop was never far away.
At some point, someone has to add up the cost of all the crime and insurance and repair work and fear we have these days, versus the cost of actually getting some more police on the street.
The model is there to be seen. Visibility works.
I wouldn’t have thought it was that hard. But we seem to be trying to make it as hard as possible.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings
They wander the street, they arrive in minutes and their sirens are too loud and too permanent. But you can't argue they don't make you feel safe.
It's the same in London. London has knife crime and the new trend is attacks from thugs on motorbikes in flash areas; they speed by and grab a watch or a hand bag.
I never saw any of it. But the reputational damage is being done.
But, once again, the cops are everywhere.
They're wandering the streets, just like they used to do here.
I can't remember the last time I saw a police officer on the streets of this country, plus their cars are hard enough to spot.
Somewhere along the line someone decided walking the beat wasn’t good policing any more. They talk of community policing but I just don’t see it.
Further, I am convinced of the power of imagery. Get a cop with a stab-proof vest and an arsenal of weaponry, whether it be a baton, handcuffs, pepper spray or a gun, and you send a message. As I've told you before, the flash shops in San Francisco have guards with guns and dogs.
God forbid we ever end up there. But I'm still reading about the ram raids and the daylight attacks here. I didn’t read about them in New York or London and I didn’t, I suspect, because a cop was never far away.
At some point, someone has to add up the cost of all the crime and insurance and repair work and fear we have these days, versus the cost of actually getting some more police on the street.
The model is there to be seen. Visibility works.
I wouldn’t have thought it was that hard. But we seem to be trying to make it as hard as possible.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings
3 comments:
Foot cops would have to be armed and ready to use same without fear of an Inquisition. Otherwise and anyway they would get mugged. There is seldom enough pubic not imagining decolonisation close at hand to support them or discourage assaults on them. I can recall the provincial town of my youth. A sole cop would walk the main street and talk with citizens. Today they would not dare. He cycled a mile to meet the express each afternoon. Now he would be shot from a passing car.Or his bike would be stolen or wrecked.
Hi Mike couldn't agree more. This is why crime is so out of control because of the softly softly approach. Why is NZ so weak at enforcing the laws we have? Politicians believe to solve the problem we need to create more laws, thereby becoming the most over legislated country in the world, meanwhile being the least able to enforce the laws we have in place. That is why there is a state of lawlessness in NZ. I've lived in Australia for years and I guarantee you this law and order weakness isn't tolerated over the ditch.
Unable to enforce or won’t? Crime … waka jumping … human rights…and so it goes on. The laws it does respect : treaty of Waitangi Act!!!!! Based on a lie.
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