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P LETTER OF THE WEEK
Page 20
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Has the Government succeeded in creating a police dictatorship?
I READ WITH interest the statement from the South Wales police following the recent fuel protests that took place.
They say "Our main aim [is] to ensure the continued flow of traffic." This flies in the face of police action on road closures.
By their own admission they: • Take no account of the effect on traffic flow, congestion and costs.
• Have no records on the number of accidents caused on the alternative routes people are forced to use. Their failure to adequately risk assess their actions probably puts them in breach of the 1999 Management of H&S Regulations — an interesting situation. • Have no idea of how many road closures following RTAs etc actually result in meaningful convictions.
Their attitude seems to be: "If we want to close the road then we will do it and keep it closed for however long we want, and road users will just have to make the best of it."
If the prosecution of the protesters goes ahead, we can be certain of one thing — this discredited Government has succeeded in establishing one of the cornerstones of a dictatorship — political control of the police. Parry Davis
Owner Hazardous Safety