Dear All
Scaremongering doesn’t do people any good and unsubstantiated scaremongering is completely irresponsible.
Scotland needs a new national Police Force to cover the whole country.
The catalyst which has focused minds is the cuts to budgets.
However, it seems that people need to have the vision of the new Force spelled out for them because of mass hysteria and panic.
People like John Grieve, leader of Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team have jumped the gun by saying that lives will be needlessly lost on Scotland’s mountains under a single police force.
Evidence to support such a claim!
Zero, yes that is right absolutely zero.
John Grieve fears any centralisation of mountain rescue co-ordination under the move because he thinks it would jeopardise the work teams like his do.
It won’t, localisation based on geographic and socio economics will ensure that won’t happen, undertsanding of problems and no asset stripping of front line services.
There will be autonomy built into the system but these people will be centrally answerable to the new Force Commander. There will be freedom but not a blank cheque.
Grieve says:
“The eight different police forces currently approach mountain rescue in different ways. In Strathclyde for example there is the police team, but it couldn’t do everything so there are now teams in Oban and Arrochar. But rescues aren’t run from Oban or Arrochar but from Strathclyde Police HQ in Pitt Street, Glasgow. It is a similar thing in Grampian they have their own police team, the civilian teams in Braemar and Aberdeen, but everything is largely run by the police”.
Zoning will take care of that problem and the new Police force will operate and develop a recognisable standard and operating practices.
Best practice will be the benchmark at all times.
Grieve cites that the police team in Tayside do the bulk of rescues, this means their excellence will now be available right across Scotland by way of tuition.
Recently Chief Constable Stephen House took time away from polishing his top of the range Audi A6 to back a single force.
He sees the writing on the wall and Grieve should see the writing on the rock face, local responsibility will be strengthened in a way previously not seen.
The new national Police Force is the broad brush stroke, but all the minor details will be filled in so that input goes all the way in both directions. Regardless who you are in the Police, you should be allowed and encouraged to take part in the consultation.
This is about making things better not giving in to fear, the people Grieve currently works with from the Police teams aren’t going anywhere!
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
Scaremongering doesn’t do people any good and unsubstantiated scaremongering is completely irresponsible.
Scotland needs a new national Police Force to cover the whole country.
The catalyst which has focused minds is the cuts to budgets.
However, it seems that people need to have the vision of the new Force spelled out for them because of mass hysteria and panic.
People like John Grieve, leader of Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team have jumped the gun by saying that lives will be needlessly lost on Scotland’s mountains under a single police force.
Evidence to support such a claim!
Zero, yes that is right absolutely zero.
John Grieve fears any centralisation of mountain rescue co-ordination under the move because he thinks it would jeopardise the work teams like his do.
It won’t, localisation based on geographic and socio economics will ensure that won’t happen, undertsanding of problems and no asset stripping of front line services.
There will be autonomy built into the system but these people will be centrally answerable to the new Force Commander. There will be freedom but not a blank cheque.
Grieve says:
“The eight different police forces currently approach mountain rescue in different ways. In Strathclyde for example there is the police team, but it couldn’t do everything so there are now teams in Oban and Arrochar. But rescues aren’t run from Oban or Arrochar but from Strathclyde Police HQ in Pitt Street, Glasgow. It is a similar thing in Grampian they have their own police team, the civilian teams in Braemar and Aberdeen, but everything is largely run by the police”.
Zoning will take care of that problem and the new Police force will operate and develop a recognisable standard and operating practices.
Best practice will be the benchmark at all times.
Grieve cites that the police team in Tayside do the bulk of rescues, this means their excellence will now be available right across Scotland by way of tuition.
Recently Chief Constable Stephen House took time away from polishing his top of the range Audi A6 to back a single force.
He sees the writing on the wall and Grieve should see the writing on the rock face, local responsibility will be strengthened in a way previously not seen.
The new national Police Force is the broad brush stroke, but all the minor details will be filled in so that input goes all the way in both directions. Regardless who you are in the Police, you should be allowed and encouraged to take part in the consultation.
This is about making things better not giving in to fear, the people Grieve currently works with from the Police teams aren’t going anywhere!
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
3 comments:
The people who really represent Scottish Mountain Rescue ( The Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland)will be responding in a sensible way to the consultation papers which only came out on the 10th Feb, this will be done after full consultation with all 26 scottish MR teams and will be somewhat more considered than Mr Grieves comments. He is factually inaccurate in saying that rescues are run from Police control rooms, they may be instigated there but control is almost always with the MR team leader in consultation with any Police Officers who may, or may not, be in attendance.
From one of the 1000 or so MR volunteers in Scotland
Why viewers still use to read news papers when in this technological globe all is available on web?
There's certainly a great deal to learn about this issue.
I really like all of the points you made.
Post a Comment