‘Corrosive’ political point scoring

I regret but understand the need for politicians to score points by criticizing the opposing party. However this should not be at the expense of raising fear in the communities which they seek to serve.

By The Newsroom

Published 1st May 2014, 16:22 BST

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and prospective Labour parliamentary candidate Sarah Owen are hardly fit for office if they encourage headlines such as “Shadow Home Secretary has concerns over crime in the rural Rother area “(Observer 25 April).

These sorts of comments are irresponsible, corrosive and in this case inaccurate and will be disturbing to some of the most vulnerable in our community: reducing fear of crime must be a target of responsible government and policing.

Had either of them done their research thoroughly before trying to grab headlines they would know that, despite budget cuts, crime across rural Rother has trended downwards consistently over the past few years as a result of tremendous work by our dedicated police force.

Cameron Foye

by email