Dear All
The business of business is business; this applies right across the board if any organisation is to be viable.
Scotland’s biggest police force is Strathclyde Police and a major employer.
It needs money, there is a funding gap of £30 million which is a financial black hole that money pours in and nothing is generated out.
Now, the chickens are coming home to roost as the credit crunch bites, it has drawn up plans to lose 400 officers by the end of the financial year.
At present, the Chief Constable is warning staff that there will be dramatic cuts over in the near future, months rather than years as they try to restructure the budget.
As well as 400 officers jobs going to the wall; Strathclyde Police is seeking to lose nearly one-quarter of its civilian support staff about 600 people.
1,000 jobs in the Strathclyde area going and then there is the other Police Authorities who will be wielding the axe.
So, I come back again to my call to regulate the drugs markets and use some of the considerable money generated to fund a better Police Force.
There is no use funding extra Police in this case 1,000 if the result is not sustainable.
Rather than having a recruitment freeze investment should be made but this requires politicians who have vision.
Solutions are needed and I said a reservoir of cash is floating around Scotland which is untapped by the state.
A while ago I wrote a post where I said the state need to enter the drugs market to wrestle control from criminals, my phrase; ‘in it to win it’ hits the nail on the head.
Les Gray, the chairman of the Scottish Police Federation said:
“I am shocked by these figures. In the end it will be the public who pays if there are fewer officers.”
Richard Baker, Scottish Labour’s spokesman on justice said:
“The loss of more than 400 officers in Strathclyde would have a huge impact on public safety. This is especially the case if remaining police officers are expected to fulfil some of the duties of the 600 or so civilian staff to go as well. These massive cuts seem to be taking place incredibly quickly and I have no idea how these targets will be reached.”
Both Gray and Baker other than platitudes have no answers, they see the problem but cannot fix it or do the work required tackle the problem; they want someone else to take care of it while they sit on the sidelines.
The Labour Party by their stupidity in not regulating the banks properly has effectively broken the back of society.
In order for the balance to be resumed, it will require blue sky thinking to solve many of the current problems.
Legalisation of drugs delivers solutions.
Although the Chief Constable Steven House his colleagues met with senior councillors last week for a private briefing which spelt out the seriousness of the financial situation at Strathclyde.
Nothing properly got achieved other than a communal ‘I feel your pain’ session.
House has to go to Holyrood and publicly support the current drug legalisation debate, from his point of view this is about self preservation and future investment.
Much was made about the use of Kevin Carroll’s car seized by Police, this was an asset.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2887733/Cop-supercar-Audi-was-seized-from-Kevil-Gerbil-Carroll.html
Legalisation of the drugs market to fund public services is simply making use of another asset.
Cash!
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
The business of business is business; this applies right across the board if any organisation is to be viable.
Scotland’s biggest police force is Strathclyde Police and a major employer.
It needs money, there is a funding gap of £30 million which is a financial black hole that money pours in and nothing is generated out.
Now, the chickens are coming home to roost as the credit crunch bites, it has drawn up plans to lose 400 officers by the end of the financial year.
At present, the Chief Constable is warning staff that there will be dramatic cuts over in the near future, months rather than years as they try to restructure the budget.
As well as 400 officers jobs going to the wall; Strathclyde Police is seeking to lose nearly one-quarter of its civilian support staff about 600 people.
1,000 jobs in the Strathclyde area going and then there is the other Police Authorities who will be wielding the axe.
So, I come back again to my call to regulate the drugs markets and use some of the considerable money generated to fund a better Police Force.
There is no use funding extra Police in this case 1,000 if the result is not sustainable.
Rather than having a recruitment freeze investment should be made but this requires politicians who have vision.
Solutions are needed and I said a reservoir of cash is floating around Scotland which is untapped by the state.
A while ago I wrote a post where I said the state need to enter the drugs market to wrestle control from criminals, my phrase; ‘in it to win it’ hits the nail on the head.
Les Gray, the chairman of the Scottish Police Federation said:
“I am shocked by these figures. In the end it will be the public who pays if there are fewer officers.”
Richard Baker, Scottish Labour’s spokesman on justice said:
“The loss of more than 400 officers in Strathclyde would have a huge impact on public safety. This is especially the case if remaining police officers are expected to fulfil some of the duties of the 600 or so civilian staff to go as well. These massive cuts seem to be taking place incredibly quickly and I have no idea how these targets will be reached.”
Both Gray and Baker other than platitudes have no answers, they see the problem but cannot fix it or do the work required tackle the problem; they want someone else to take care of it while they sit on the sidelines.
The Labour Party by their stupidity in not regulating the banks properly has effectively broken the back of society.
In order for the balance to be resumed, it will require blue sky thinking to solve many of the current problems.
Legalisation of drugs delivers solutions.
Although the Chief Constable Steven House his colleagues met with senior councillors last week for a private briefing which spelt out the seriousness of the financial situation at Strathclyde.
Nothing properly got achieved other than a communal ‘I feel your pain’ session.
House has to go to Holyrood and publicly support the current drug legalisation debate, from his point of view this is about self preservation and future investment.
Much was made about the use of Kevin Carroll’s car seized by Police, this was an asset.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2887733/Cop-supercar-Audi-was-seized-from-Kevil-Gerbil-Carroll.html
Legalisation of the drugs market to fund public services is simply making use of another asset.
Cash!
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
well said George, radical thinking, clear and worth debating
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