I WRITE with regard to Inspector Hodges' letter last week (The Officer Was Right to Issue a Report Form, Herald letters) in response to my previous letter about my daughter's encounter with a police community support officer.
I must commend Mr Hodges for his support of his fellow officer, together with his succinct statement of The Codes of Practice.
The officer, indeed, did her job perfectly.
However, I feel I may not have made my point clearly in my previous letter.
I have no criticism of PCSOs.
I think they do a great job.
I've seen the way they build good relations with the community and I think they are a great resource in the prevention of crime.
At last, a valuable police presence on the streets.
My point here is that the execution of Code A of the Codes of Practice, paragraphs 4.12 and 4.17, in the particular case of a child climbing on a wall or throwing stones on the beach, are symptomatic of an overbearing nanny state.
As a parent, my role is to empower my kids to be responsible and to direct their own lives.
This starts with them learning to take responsibility for their own actions.
Many parents will agree that no matter how much they tell their kids "don't do that", they will invariably carry on until they learn ultimately through the consequences.
If my daughter had fallen off the wall she would have blamed no-one but herself, knowing full well she is responsible.
When our kids cannot climb walls or throw stones on the beach, I wonder, what next?
There's a slight whiff of communism in the air.
Some of us do not live by Codes of Practice, but by common sense and freedom. Something, I fear, that is slowly dwindling in this country.
R Offen
Seamill Park Crescent
Worthing-------------------------------------
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