The future of policing?
Ever had your purse pinched? Well fear not, the police’s latest weapon in the fight against crime is here: the bilingual officer. The recruitment of overseas officers is a police initiative set up to crack down on foreign gangs, many of whom target the Westfield shopping centre.
French-speaking officers have been used in an undercover operation to infiltrate an Algerian gang. Although this may read like a James Bond script, the use of bilingual policemen has led to the arrest of ten individuals responsible for theft.
Inspector Dan Stobbart claims that such measures are necessary to tackle the growing number of foreign gangs in the area, especially at a time when the police are experiencing Government cuts.
Only time will tell whether this is an effective and sustainable approach to policing gangs, however, in the mean time foreign criminals better watch out for those who may be listening in…