Gluttony personified

I would hate to be accused of living in a glass house while revelling in random stone-throwing but, hey, here goes.

I have been accused by more than one person of having an extensive appetite, but could we have seen the biggest examples of gluttony in policing since Patrick Sheehy took on the Police Federation?

What I mean is there are so many people trying to bite off far more than they could ever imagine they could eat. The Government has made a number of recent announcements, any of which could be the subject of the Sunday Times article quoting a chief officer as saying the Government announces first, thinks second. The most relevant is the announcement that police forces will have to give up some of their income to fund the Independent Police Complaints Commission’s investigations into serious cases.

If ever there was a sight of political greed it was this. Not content with continuous improvement in the corruption and complaints system, the Government has eschewed bite-size morsels in favour of the instant gratification of giant-sized pizza packed with chaotic re-engineering of the professional standards arena.

Perhaps the decision to reject the European menu of policing measures was a move to balance the diet. This low-fat, healthy options attitude, rejecting platters high in EU numbers, leaves us looking picky, even anorexic, when it comes to continental dining. It was interesting to read how Europe sees the UK’s plans on the subject. Apparently, we are described as having an a la carte taste but wanting to pay a menu price.

It seems a number of police and crime commissioners have all tried to feast on the media’s appetite for radical proposals too. It was a pity that a 17-year-old had to get burned to learn that it is possible to over-cook an idea.

Be careful when dining at the devil’s table, and be prepared to pay the bill.