Thursday 18 December 2008

Doing Time with Penzance Police

I was fortunate last week to shadow Penzance Police Officers overnight last week (see picture below with Inspector Mark Eccles).


I accompanied police officers as they patrolled streets and roads in and around Penzance. Keeping students safe as they attended their College Christmas Party quickly became the primary focus of the Officer’s attention. Other ‘jobs’ included the arrest and custody of a small number of drivers suspected of drink driving.

Once again I was privileged to witness first-hand the efforts of our police men and women late into the night. We feel safe in our homes at night largely because of the commitment and hard work of our police service – much of which is unseen

This shadowing exercise is the third such visit in as many years. Previous visits have highlighted the growing problem of anti-social behaviour of people under the influence of alcohol.

I was impressed by the effective partnership of the Police, licensees and on this particular occasion the staff of Penwith College. The effort that has been made to prevent alcohol abuse amongst young people clearly paid off and the vast majority of youngsters I saw were able to enjoy their evening and most importantly feel safe and remain safe. This multi-agency approach is vital if we are to take seriously the problem of under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour.

As the local Parliamentary Candidate I believe that everyone would get a better deal if Government substantially reduced form-filling by the police, reduced central control and trusted the police to do the job they signed up for.