MONMOUTH MP David Davies has urged politicians to stop blaming the police for the violence which is spreading across London and other major cities.
Instead, he said politicians should consider the impact which their own policies and pronouncements have had on the ability of the police to maintain the rule of the law.
Mr Davies, who serves as a Special Constable with the British Transport Police, said: “The police are under strict instructions that at all times they must consider the human rights of law breakers to be their absolute priority. This is something which is constantly hammered home in training and in briefing sessions.
“Officers are even being advised in some areas that they should simply put up with people swearing at them, which completely undermines the authority the police once had.
“Carrying out an arrest is a long process which will often remove two officers for much of their shift because of the need to complete paperwork quickly, making it even harder to deal with mass outbreaks of disorder.
“Any officer using any level of force to defend themselves from attack knows they can expect to be investigated and possibly face disciplinary action.
“When instead of confronting rioters the police moved to a policy of containment, referred to in the press as ‘kettling’, they were again accused by MPs of breaching the human rights of rioters.
“Virtually any action the police take is likely to be jumped on by politicians and human rights campaigners like Shami Chakrabarti.
“Trying to police a riot therefore means a thin line of police officers confronted by a violent mob have to try and identify individuals breaking specific laws, then arrest them without causing inquiry to the lawbreaker or anyone else supporting them. It’s an impossible task.
“We could deal with the problem quite quickly by simply giving people five minutes to clear the area then allowing the police discretion to use whatever level of force they deem appropriate to clear an area of rioters. However, this would lead to a flurry of mobile phone photographs of police appearing to behave in a violent fashion, along with complaints that “innocent little children”, i.e. violent 17 year-old looters, had sustained injuries. This would be followed by a general hullaballoo in the press led by the ever present Ms Chakrabarti and followed up with demands in Parliament that the police be controlled.
“The relatively small number who end up in front of the courts will probably face fines or community sentences and will be straight back out on the streets.
“We are where we are because as a society we lack the will to allow the police to match the levels of violence being used by the mob. The burnt out houses and shops are the price we as a nation pay for placing so much importance on the human rights of violent mobs. It is not a price which I think is worth paying but I accept I am probably in a minority”.