Express & Star comment: No excuses please, get on with it!
New figures relating to the staggering number of crimes that result in no punishment being dished out should make our police forces hang their heads in shame.
In the Black Country three quarters of all recorded crimes conclude with the police taking no action, while in six out of 10 cases officers do not identify a suspect.
While a lack of resources will inevitably be held up as the reason behind these appalling figures, questions must be asked about how the police manage their funding.
There will understandably be widespread concern among the public.
It’s crime and no punishment: West Midlands Police take no action on three quarters of recorded crimes
Many people will question whether it is even worth reporting a crime when the chances of the culprit being identified and snared are so slim.
Sadly, it may well be the case that a significant number of people have already reached that conclusion.
Undoubtedly, successive governments must take their share of the blame for the parlous state of our police forces.
Theresa May's administration is Conservative in name only and often reflects the ideology of New Labour, albeit without the spendthrift policies.
At the same time, it is ridiculous that the Government is spending £37 million a day on our foreign aid budget.
It appears that money can easily be found for dubious foreign despots and poor impoverished nations such as India and China, both of which have space programmes.
Yet the coffers are empty when the call goes out for more bobbies on our streets.
However, in no way does this let senior officers off the hook.
Yes, they may be hamstrung by some of the more politically correct diktats from the Home Office, currently under the aimless stewardship of Amber Rudd.
But our police and crime commissioners and our chief constables should be working around the clock to come up with a better plan.
At the moment, far too much time is being spent pointing party political fingers.
At a time when drastic action is needed, this simply will not do.
Whinging about funding issues is not the answer.
We expect action. We demand leadership.
People are fed up of hearing the same old excuses.
We want to see large scale improvements from top to bottom.
Now get on with it.
