Since the recent exposure of alleged sexual misconduct by the film director Harvey Weinstein and his trial by media we have been subjected to a succession of sexual harassment stories involving members of parliament and employees at the BBC. All of which has dominated our news so much so that headlines like ‘Gropers at Westminster’ have buried other really serious issues including the security of our country and its citizens as well as the Brexit deal negotiations.
Prisoners vote
In October it was revealed that prisoners serving less than a one year sentence are to be reinstated with the right to vote after a 12-year dispute with the European Court of Human Rights which in fact ruled in 2005 that it was a breach of prisoner’s human rights to deny them the right to vote. Some feel this is the first move to granting all prisoners this right, resulting in fresh questions being raised about the Government’s approach to law and order with the ongoing cuts diminishing the effectiveness of our police in their endeavours to fight crime and the rising threat of terrorism.
Soft on crime
The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) recently spelled out to ministers exactly what needs to be done as far as the police are concerned and without an injection of additional funds the legitimacy of policing will be seriously under threat. All the indicators are there, with some headline facts which cannot be ignored. Recorded crime rose by 13 per cent in 2016 and arrests have halved in the last ten years. With reports of failing 999 services because police forces simply cannot cope with the rising numbers of calls and demands on their services, it is not too difficult to work out which demographic is likely to suffer most. It is likely that businesses will be at the top of that list along with the vulnerable of our society.
Support from banks
Modern slavery and people trafficking continues, despite media coverage and police attempts to eliminate it. In a new move police forces have enlisted the help of bank staff by training them how to spot victims and their handlers. Fear still seems to be the most used weapon by those forcing victims into this arena of crime. Police forces are reported to be struggling with the complexity of such crimes and the resource required to secure prosecutions. Barclays have been working with the police and the charity ‘Stop the Traffik’ in an attempt to turn the tide on these gutter level criminals. The flow of funds through bank accounts provides the financial resource to buy flights and passage into the UK from eastern Europe and other parts where even more unsuspecting victims are lined up in readiness for a life in servitude.
Misjudged focus
So while the media focuses its attention on someone complaining about a misplaced hand on their knee or a kiss that nearly happened in 2003, law enforcement agencies continue to falter as funds dry up preventing them from providing the services that we as the public expect and deserve. Basic resources demanded by the level of crime in the UK rather than cuts continually biting the fraud and cyber crime specialists, intelligence handlers, undercover units and surveillance teams who target and apprehend the most dangerous offenders who leach off those law-abiding of our society. The private security industry does not of course go unscathed in all this as businesses across the country suffer at the hands of the increasing wave of crime and the decreasing tide of police prosecutions as the thin blue line becomes a mere shadow.
And Brexit
Whilst Westminster sorts out its sleeze and the bank rate rises for the first time in a decade Brexit negotiations roll on. European diplomats claim that the events of the past few weeks will be perceived as further signs of weakness in hard fought discussions to secure the right deal for the exit from Europe. Some claim that the sleeze stories were simply a ploy to get the deadlock in EU negotiations off the front page while the country continued to suffer the increased threat of terror attacks against the background of stalled negotiations crucial to our economic future. Putting conspiratorial theories to one side security levels in the UK need to be maintained and border controls have to be a priority. Whether you are concerned about the eastern Europeans sleeping rough around the landmarks in London or those exploiting our benefit system, law and order has to be maintained whether we are in or out of Europe.
Fake news
During the first week of November we saw the launch of the new iPhone X. According to research recently published teenagers are spending between five and six hours a day looking at their screen or on social media. Rates of depressive illness increase in unprecedented number especially in our younger generation who are moulded by what they see and read on social media. The Collins English Dictionary has just named ‘fake news’ as the word of the year and this has happened because like it or not we are getting our news from social media sites and sources which are flooded with false facts, sensationalism and manipulated opinion. Our lives and decisions are changing as a result. Those in authority are being influenced also and this is dangerous because where there is no truth there is no trust and where there is no trust society simply breaks down.
