West Midlands Police squander taxpayers’ money on pointless survey

It is reported that politically correct West Midlands Police have spent more than £1 million of our tax money on surveys seeking to establish what residents think about crime in their area! Yes – you’ve read that correctly – police have spent more than £1 million of our tax money over the last four years on a survey! Admittedly, this is only around half of what they are estimated to have spent on interpreter services during the same period.

The so-called “Feeling The Difference Survey” has sought the views of some 90,000 West Midlands people on vital issues such as “the extent to which residents agree that their neighbourhood is a place where people from different backgrounds and communities can live harmoniously together”.

This frivolous survey was actually launched in 2004/05 and was initially funded by the Government and West Midlands Police. But every year since, the cost - an average of around £250,000 - has been borne entirely by the force (or, rather, the local taxpayer) itself.

The total cost, as revealed after a Freedom of Information Act request by a regional newspaper, now stands at a staggering £1,376,109 and rising, year on year.

Even senior police officers are asking why it is necessary for the survey to be conducted annually – when once every five years should be sufficient – if it is really needed at all. At least a gap of five years between reports would give the police reasonable time to act on the findings – which simply is not the case at present.

One former senior police officer has commented: “This is another PR exercise. The way we judge the police is by the number of criminals arrested and how many of them are sent to prison. We need a survey for that. If the police are doing their job the public know it.”

Yet, according to an official spokesperson for West Midlands Police: “West Midlands Police believe this is a small price to pay to seek the views of the communities we serve - views which in turn help us shape policing and allow us to concentrate on those issues which cause the most concern. Community engagement is a major part of neighbourhood policing. Our approach has helped contribute to the falls in crime we have seen year on year across the West Midlands. Crime is currently at its lowest for 18 years.”

West Midlands “crime is currently at its lowest for 18 years”? Clearly, this is one officer who needs to get out more!