Police say dealing with yobs is not their job.

Policing under New Labour

Dealing with antisocial behaviour and ' low-level' hooliganism is no longer the responsibility of the police, a senior officer said yesterday.

Superintendent Steve Harrod, speaking at the inquest of a mother and her disabled daughter who were hounded to their deaths by yobs, said it is now the responsibility of local councils since a law change in 1998.

The officer, head of criminal justice at Leicestershire Police, said officers were allowed to hand out only reprimands and 'final warnings' to young thugs unless their offences were 'serious'.

So why exactly do we have to pay for your wages, if as you claim you are not there to keep the peace? Which as I understand it was one of the reasons the police force was set up in the first place.

Maybe he should stick to fining motorists and playing solitaire on his office PC the only roles he seems able to do...

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