999 - is it worth dialling?
In a recent newspaper article, Inspector Mark Hammond, of the Littlehampton Police, stated that if people have a problem they might try phoning the mobile numbers of the local Community Police Support Officers (plastic Policemen to you and me) as not all 999 calls get passed from the central control desk in East Sussex to the local stations. This was a response to accusations from St. Catherines Church that their call for help when an intruder was assaulting the priest on the premises went unheeded. No police turned out - not even late.
Inspector Hammond failed to indicate what people in Littlehampton should use 999 for now-a-days. Clearly there is some criteria that triggers a plod response (being assaulted by an intruder is, apparently, not enough to qualify)- it would be nice to know the rules.
Spot the Copper
When you learn to spot the difference between the plastic policemen and the real policemen, a sudden shock of realisation hits you that there are virtually no real Policemen out and about anymore.
