Police Really Have Retreated From Streets ; Letters

Summary

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I was interested to learn of the comments of the Chief Inspector of the constabulary, Sir Denis O'Connor, that "the police are retreating from the streets of our town and cities"; I would suggest this is very true of Yeovil.

The other Saturday afternoon, I spent two hours shopping in Yeovil. In the Quedam, a youth with a baseball hat and white tracksuit top was openly selling packets of drugs concealed in the back of his jeans to other youths, in clear view of passers-by. Later, in Middle Street, I met a tattooed family with a large pit bull-type fighting dog walking along the street. The dog was harnessed and had to be restrained from attacking other dogs, much to the amusement of its owner, and other shoppers were clearly crossing the street to get out of the way - presumably just the sort of reaction the dog owner wanted. I looked to see a policeman or community support officer to report both of these incidents and in two hours on a busy Saturday afternoon, I couldn't find one. So what was I to do? Phone 999 or spend the next 20 minutes trying to find the police station - is it deliberately tucked away where the public can't get to it? Like many people, I am happy to report incidents like these anonymously but don't really want to get involved with being a court witness and possible subsequent harassment etc.

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Police Really Have Retreated From Streets ; Letters

But it wou...

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