Hi,
I'm Richard Lewis and will be one of the guest editors for the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 on New Year's Day 2008.
I'm Richard Lewis and will be one of the guest editors for the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 on New Year's Day 2008.
I'm a serving police officer and our team will look at some of the key issues facing the UK today in terms of fighting crime and criminality.
We're looking for your views on a number of issues under separate headings and promise to read them all!
The views you provide really will be incorporated into the programme.
On a day to day basis, I work as the Staff Officer to the Chief Constable Mr. A. R. Edwards at Dyfed Powys Police in west Wales, researching issues for him and the rest of the Chief Officer Team (link below)
Why place an application to edit The Today Programme???
Well, where do you start really?
First of all, I guess I'm a Radio 4 junkie! Whilst on the way to work one morning I heard the programme was inviting applications so I put one in. The rest as they say, history!
The drive to contact the programme was to stimulate a national debate around what we want from the police service as citizens. The police are asked to deal with issues ranging from combating terrorism through to ensuring anti-social behaviour is reduced. Practically speaking, dealing with street corner issues through to world wide investigations.
I'm the first to admit, I HATE the thought of a national debate around anything! What the heck does it mean? Most people don't have a view, but it's rather a fundamental question that nobody seems to have grasped.
As other minor figures of authority in our communities vanishing; bus conductors, park wardens etc, the police seem to fill the void that has been created. Is it fair? I don't know the answer but it's a facinating question.
What do you think?
Sir Ian Blair asked the very question in his Dimbleby Lecture in 2005. You can find the link through the blog entitled "What do you want from your police service".
3 comments:
Hi there.
It's Tim Wright here from the Today web site. It would be great to get a sense of what you're working day is like and how it came to be that you chose these particular themes for your today programme.
Also I think we'd all love to see some photos of you and your team!
cheers
timw
Whilst interviewing David Blunkett MP, Richard Lewis stated that the Chief Constable was responsible to the community that he served. Interesting then that his own Chief Constable ran from the scene, under the cloak of early retirement, the moment he was being investigated. Just how accountable is that?
In November 2005 I complained to the IPCC about John Burbeck The Chief Constable of Warwickshire. I presented evidence to the police authority showing that he had failed to keep proper control of his police officers and by July 2006 he was gone. His replacement Keith Bristow is no more in control of his officers than his predecessor because their are moles inside Leek Wootton police Headquarters blocking letters, emails etc to the chief officer. A senior police officer and a member of the police authority are behind a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice involving a drug dealing gang based in Brinklow
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