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"Walking with a purpose"

01 September 1994

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This was how the Home Secretary Michael Howard described one of his new initiatives to cut down crime. The idea of "Street Watch" is that members of the public, with the agreement of the local police, walk around their area and be the "eyes and ears" of the police. The response of police organisations varied from luke- warm to highly critical. The President of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Sir John Smith, when asked about the value of the scheme on BBC Radio, suggested the question should be put to the Home Secretary. The Superintendents Association and the Police Federation were not consulted.

While the police are concerned that they are being given more work to do with less money others question whether "walking with a purpose" will lead to vigilante patrols by groups with no definable line of accountability.

Home Office press release 28.9.94; Police Review 30.9.94 & 7.10.94; POLICE September 1994.

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