This month I have been … on nights a lot.

The backlash has arrived, and slightly sooner than I thought as well, due to no additional comments coming from by Kent Constabulary.

Crouchergate seems to have died down now, compared to the initial flare, with some bloggers believing it to have had enough exposure as it is.

My first thoughts at the time were of what this would mean for the rest of the serving Officers in the country. Quite rightly after the initial report, the question of being single-crewed on patrol came up again with the usual arguments for and against being ‘two-up’ making the rounds.

There were groups started on social networking websites, spearheaded by Police Officers, highlighting the dangers of being a lone bobby on response, demanding a change on grounds of safety. One particular group, started in Kent, seems to have attracted the most attention, with over a thousand members rallying its cause. Sadly, the The Daily Wail has taken it upon itself to label Police as now ‘whining’ regarding single patrol in these articles, which makes reference to the above group but provides no link.

I think the Wail may have missed the picture. Although I agree it does put across a good point that things must be getting pretty bad in Britain, for Police Officers to feel in danger, simply being on patrol, the rest of the article is as to be expected. Would the Wail accuse ambulance paramedics that won’t go into addresses without a Police escort, of whining? What about those that need our presence due to unruly ‘clients’? What about schools that often call us to deal with pupils that are getting out of hand? Are they all whining too? How can it be, that individuals constantly putting themselves at risk for the benefit of others, are chastised and ridiculed for being concerned with their safety?

As a side note, I’ve just completed a quiet(ish) tour of lates, which included the weekend. The night turn doubled-up all their patrols, rather wastefully I think, and were therefore all committed when one incident came in that required three vehicles. That lead to the night Inspector asking a few of us to stay on from lates, and deal with the non-existant jobs that weren’t coming in. Hopefully, some time spent in the nice warm station this week to catch up on paperwork, is just round the corner.

Must dash; I’ve heard the Supernintendo is coming in to ‘deliver a target driven, local level, crime reduction initiative’ and (I promise) my boots have seen better days!