Chief constables should steer their officers back towards the basics of policing

Last week police in Lincoln were filmed dancing to a song called ‘The Macarena’ at a gay pride event.

Over the weekend, a PSNI officer did the same at gay pride event in Londonderry.

In response to the former event, the chief constable of Lincolnshire rejected criticism that such dancing was inappropriate, and said: “Policing is not just about enforcement and patrol but about engagement, understanding and being part of the community.”

That sounds all very reasonable until you wonder: would police feel that engaging at a Conservative Party conference meant laughing and bantering with Tory delegates?

Would they, if policing an Orange parade in Belfast, leave the footpath and join the marchers?

Would they, at a football match, engage by cheering on the team of the fans beside whom they were standing?

That this even needs to be asked illustrates the ridiculous position in which policing bosses have put themselves. They have, in parts of the UK including NI, recorded ‘non criminal hate incidents’ against alleged ‘haters’ without the supposed culprits even knowing there is a slur on their name.

Meanwhile police are quick to cite ‘data protection’ to thwart journalistic queries about elementary public information, such as the identity of fatal crash victims.

Increasingly police officers seem like social workers rather than the public face of law and order.

Meanwhile they have a reputation for not rigorously investigating crimes such as domestic thefts.

On Sunday night (see link below) police in Essex failed in another core duty to prevent environmentalists inadvertently thwarting newspaper deliveries. The protests were against fuel, yet police there decided that oil deliveries were ‘vital’ and needed protection but newspapers were not — an arbitrary decision.

It is high time that policing returned to the basics of polite but firm and dignified officers neutrally helping to ensure a safe and functioning society.

• Police fail to ensure newspaper delivery vans can exit Essex printing plant