I read with some alarm and not a little sadness of a company that has been set up in response to the on going fear of crime.
The interested reader can find details of the proposed service at
http://www.hcps.org.uk/
The basic premise seems to be of a privately funded security service providing protection services for residents who stump up a fixed 3.15 a week or a one off fixed fee of 163.80.
I have a number of issues with this service. The first of which is the climate of fear they are acting to foster and maintain. The service is making monies from peoples naturalfear of petty crime.
Whilst, such a fear is understandable, the area in which they are setting up initially (Shirley) is, after all, as far as southampton goes, one of the higher crime rate areas.
The reality is crime according to Hampshire police statistics is falling in the area
already. The cynic on such figures would question of course the reporting rates I do believe the fear of crime in our city is greater than the occurances of crime itself.
Such fear of crime blights neighbourhoods in a similar way to crime itself, it fosters a corrosive cancer in the heart of our communities locking us away from each other and the facilities and environment we could otherwise be enjoying.
I also question the usefulness of the service. I can sort of see that it may have a deterrent effect in the areas being actively patrolled. This is not at all certain though given the mentality of diseffected youth, they may well see their presence as a challenge.
If actual crime is detected by the public if serious the police should be called. I would hate to think if physical violence is being inflicted for instance that these people would be called in the first instance as I am sure that for many good reasons including contamination of evidence and the physical well being of the firms staff they would not be allowed to intervene, whilst the police operate under different rules.
In the case of petty crime against property or plain old antisocial behaviour, I can
see a role for observation and education but again the danger exists for abuse of authority and escalation of issues and the legal issues associated with physical action undertaken by adults upon children.
What happens for example if one of these guards interupts a young person engaging in an act of graffiti and attempts to detain the child for the police to apprehend. The site after all quotes their powers of citizen arrest so the scenario is plausible.
All is well if the child is prepared to be detained, but what if they are not, a scuffle ensues the ramifications are messy indeed. The guard is potentially open to false allegations of abuse. The child is potentially open to abuses of power on behalf of the guard.
The notion of dog patrols on the streets of southampton worry be also, dogs can be very intimidating creatures, especially those breed to be so hence they are a poweful tool as the website states. I am not at all sure as a law abiding citizen that I want to be so intimidated on my own streets in the name of public security.
All in all this seems a ill conceived plan, with many potential pitfalls tackling a important issue in an inappropriate way. The solution I would favour is a properly funded police service supported by an observant community providing useful intelligence to the police so they can effectively tackle the small minority within our community that choose to act in an anti-social and/or illegal manner.
