If it wasn’t so serious, it would be funny. A press release from the Police and Crime Commissioner tells of how the Community Ambassador for Shropshire was astonished at the level of speeding in Ludlow. Graham Oliver was here to witness the first day of Ludlow police’s Christmas speed and drink-driving enforcement campaign. Seven vehicles on Sheet Road were pulled over in just a few minutes for speeding. I live near Sheet Road and I can tell you, Mr Oliver, that speeding not just frequent there, its normal. The default mode of driving on some roads here is to speed.
Tag: Police Commissioner
Community safety and crime to top agenda at Ludlow and Clee meeting on Thursday
Following a spate of burglaries in the area, the next meeting of the Ludlow and Clee Local Joint Committee (LJC) next Thursday, 22 October is to debate community safety. The meeting will be attended by Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner Barrie Sheldon and Inspector Rob Thomas from West Mercia police. Councillor Andy Boddington, chair of the LJC says: “In recent months there has been a spate of burglaries of households and business premises in the Ludlow area. This has added to the feeling of many residents that it’s not safe to be out and about at night, or to leave their property unattended. We’ve been asking residents in Ludlow and the surrounding villages how safe they feel.
What a bad start for the West Mercia Police Commissioner!
An excellent expose by Chris Burn in the Shropshire Star yesterday reveals just how much the new Police and Crime Commissioner, Bill Longmore, will be costing the citizens West Mercia. Curiously, this cost was not mentioned when the three candidates were campaigning for election. Neither did the candidates talk of appointing a highly-paid deputy. The commission looks set to cost at least £675,000, a cool £335,000 more than the previous police authority. This is money that could be available to police West Mercia’s streets and lanes. But it will instead be used to pay people to talk and shuffle paper without any direct responsibility for reducing or solving crime. Barrie Sheldon, deputy commissioner, tells the Shropshire Star: “We intend to do everything a bit cheaper than the previous police authority.” These words defy the reality that bureaucracy expands to consume the budget available. There will always be a reason or […]