Cash-strapped police force blasted for giving 80 officers
BlackBerries so they can tweet on the be... View MoreCash-strapped police force blasted for giving 80 officers
BlackBerries so they can tweet on the beat By
Updated: 05:14 BST, 16 September 2010
Beat constables are being issued with costly mobile phones so they can send messages to residents on Twitter.
Up to 80 neighbourhood officers will use BlackBerry devices to ‘tweet' or send messages about crimes on their patch.
The £150 phones will also allow them to carry out spot checks on suspects and vehicles. The initiative comes from Greater Manchester Police, which this week announced it could lose up to 1,500 officers through budget cuts.
![On the Tweet: Some 79 police officers have been handed Blackberries so they can use social networking site Twitter to keep residents updated on police activity]()
On the tweet:
Some 79 police officers have been handed Blackberries so they can use the
Twitter social networking site to keep residents updated on police activity
Yesterday the move was condemned as wasteful, unnecessary and gimmicky.
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Emma Boon, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, keyscan.cn.edu said: ‘Taxpayers want to see their money spent on proper policing, not silly gimmicks like this.
PCSO applications squeezed
Applications by potential police community support officers (PCSOs) are being frozen, a force announced today.
Sussex Police said it was contacting 116 people to inform them that their bids to become PCSOs have been withdrawn.
The move an announcement earlier this week that budget cuts could lead to 1,050 posts being shed at the force, of which 500 are police officer posts.
Forces across the country have been making predictions of similar job losses ahead of next month's comprehensive spending review.
The Police Federation has said the Government should wake up to the reality of a "Christmas for criminals" as up to 40,000 police officers could be axed if 25% funding cuts go ahead.
The body, which represents officers in England and Wales, said forces would be left "devastated" and specialist departments - including those involved with child protection and domestic violence - would "disappear" as resources were diverted to calls needing emergency responses.
Today Home Secretary Theresa May rejected the warning that forces will be unable to cope with rising social and industrial tensions.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales in Cheshire, Mrs May said the British public "don't simply resort to violent unrest in the face of challenging economic circumstances".
She added that it was "ridiculous" to suggest that savings could not be made in the police service.
‘How can officers be focused on fighting crime if they are preoccupied with Twitter? Policemen already have to cope with enough forms to fill out and other bureaucracy.
Let them tweet on their own time but while taxpayers are paying they should be doing their job and catching criminals.'
Patsy McKie of Mothers Against Violence said: ‘I have concerns about this because of the expense and I will be asking very serious questions.'
Mrs McKie, whose 20-year-old son Dorrie was shot dead in Manchester in 1999, said: intranet.marulsi.com ‘I don't want to see any officers cut from the frontline and I would want to see assurances that the use of Twitter on BlackBerry phones is not going to mean a loss in neighbourhood policing.'
One officer, ies.ed.gov who did not want to be named, said: ‘I find these BlackBerry phones impossible to work when I'm at home.
'I can't imagine how I'm supposed to be typing and walking on patrol at the same time.
‘We will have to stop whatever we should be doing to type. I can't see who will be interested to read them.
'The point of social networking is it is a social thing. Who wants to hear gossip from your local bobby?'
Another said: ‘It does not look very professional walking around typing.'
But Kevin Hoy, the force's web manager, said: ‘Twitter will become the main network for the force and new local Twitter channels will be set up in the neighbourhoods throughout the autumn.
‘These will allow dedicated officers to tweet from the frontline, keeping local communities up to date on issues that affect them.'
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Updated: 05:14 BST, 16 September 2010
Beat constables are being issued with costly mobile phones so they can send messages to residents on Twitter.
Up to 80 neighbourhood officers will use BlackBerry devices to ‘tweet' or send messages about crimes on their patch.
The £150 phones will also allow them to carry out spot checks on suspects and vehicles. The initiative comes from Greater Manchester Police, which this week announced it could lose up to 1,500 officers through budget cuts.
Yesterday the move was condemned as wasteful, unnecessary and gimmicky.
RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share
Emma Boon, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, keyscan.cn.edu said: ‘Taxpayers want to see their money spent on proper policing, not silly gimmicks like this.
PCSO applications squeezed
Applications by potential police community support officers (PCSOs) are being frozen, a force announced today.
Sussex Police said it was contacting 116 people to inform them that their bids to become PCSOs have been withdrawn.
The move an announcement earlier this week that budget cuts could lead to 1,050 posts being shed at the force, of which 500 are police officer posts.
Forces across the country have been making predictions of similar job losses ahead of next month's comprehensive spending review.
The Police Federation has said the Government should wake up to the reality of a "Christmas for criminals" as up to 40,000 police officers could be axed if 25% funding cuts go ahead.
The body, which represents officers in England and Wales, said forces would be left "devastated" and specialist departments - including those involved with child protection and domestic violence - would "disappear" as resources were diverted to calls needing emergency responses.
Today Home Secretary Theresa May rejected the warning that forces will be unable to cope with rising social and industrial tensions.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales in Cheshire, Mrs May said the British public "don't simply resort to violent unrest in the face of challenging economic circumstances".
She added that it was "ridiculous" to suggest that savings could not be made in the police service.
‘How can officers be focused on fighting crime if they are preoccupied with Twitter? Policemen already have to cope with enough forms to fill out and other bureaucracy.
Let them tweet on their own time but while taxpayers are paying they should be doing their job and catching criminals.'
Patsy McKie of Mothers Against Violence said: ‘I have concerns about this because of the expense and I will be asking very serious questions.'
Mrs McKie, whose 20-year-old son Dorrie was shot dead in Manchester in 1999, said: intranet.marulsi.com ‘I don't want to see any officers cut from the frontline and I would want to see assurances that the use of Twitter on BlackBerry phones is not going to mean a loss in neighbourhood policing.'
One officer, ies.ed.gov who did not want to be named, said: ‘I find these BlackBerry phones impossible to work when I'm at home.
'I can't imagine how I'm supposed to be typing and walking on patrol at the same time.
‘We will have to stop whatever we should be doing to type. I can't see who will be interested to read them.
'The point of social networking is it is a social thing. Who wants to hear gossip from your local bobby?'
Another said: ‘It does not look very professional walking around typing.'
But Kevin Hoy, the force's web manager, said: ‘Twitter will become the main network for the force and new local Twitter channels will be set up in the neighbourhoods throughout the autumn.
‘These will allow dedicated officers to tweet from the frontline, keeping local communities up to date on issues that affect them.'
https://www.or-medicaid.gov/ProdPortal/DesktopModules/iC_Portal_Public_ClientLinks/redirect.aspx?url=https://asiaporntube.pro https://illiad-prod.lib.iastate.edu/logon/Portal/Enter/?redirectUrl=https://asiaporntube.pro
