WOULDN'T it be nice if there were a policeman on every street corner, just waiting to be summoned instantly by a demanding public?

Recently there was an incident in Redditch where a resident waited 18 minutes before the police were able to respond to the call.

The people who complained about the "delay" were no doubt in an agitated state of mind because of the situation in which they found themselves, but let us keep a sense of proportion.

Police, in common with most working people, are not just sitting around waiting for something to happen.

They are spread thinly over a wide area and the situation they may be dealing with has to be compared with new matters that arise, as to the degree of priority.

Then the nearest officers are deployed as soon as possible, by road transport.

This takes time. They do not operate on a "beam me up Scottie" basis.

Staffing should be commensurate with the population and should not be determined by budgetary constrictions.

I believe the response times quoted above are quite reasonable.

On the one hand, "civil liberties" factions advocate less control and on the other, many people would be happy with a policeman on every corner.

But one thing is for sure, they can't be everywhere at once.

Michael Clifford

Gisburn Close

Brockhill