Express & Star comment: Are bobbies on a bus a poor use of police resources?
There are times when you have to read a story twice, just to make sure you didn’t misread it the first time.
The tale of bobbies hiding on a bus in a bid to catch drivers using mobile phones is one such occasion.
A team of what appears to be five officers were part of this covert operation, which saw them crouching down on a bus and peering through windows in a bid to snare motorists making phone calls or texting.
Two things immediately spring to mind.
Firstly, at a time when West Midlands Police is stretched beyond breaking point, with officer numbers down to the bare bones and the budget cut to ribbons, we have to ask whether this is the best use of force resources.
If you were to ask the people of the Black Country to list the crimes that cause them the most concern, drivers on the phone would probably not feature too prominently towards the top end.
What's your view? Take our poll
With the murder rate at a 10-year high, violent crime through the roof, and the chances of solving a burglary less than one in 10, many would question the sense in deploying so many officers as bus spies.
However, it is also alarming to see the number of people that have been caught by this operation.
In just 90 minutes the officers caught 19 drivers, who will all now receive a £200 fine and points on their licences.
Previous bus operations have yielded similar results.
It is frankly ridiculous that in this day and age, some people still think it is appropriate to break the law by using a phone while behind the wheel.
This is highly dangerous and downright stupid, but does it really take a handful of officers to highlight the issue?
What we are seeing is a lack of common sense all round.
Senior officers should be aware that the public is less likely to hear their pleas of poverty when they see resources allocated in this way.
People want to see police officers catching burglars, thieves, and violent criminals, not crouching down behind the back of bus seats.
With officer numbers down by more than 2,000 over the last eight years, our bobbies are disappearing from view enough as it is.
