London police should focus on gangs – Chrissie Hynde

On Saturday I saw an incident that illustrates how out of touch the police in London have become. They pulled over a couple, made them step out of their car and were handcuffing them, surrounded by nine officers. The couple’s baby was left unattended in their car. No prizes given for guessing that the couple were black (Met police deny misconduct after Linford Christie athletes stopped, 5 July).

The incident was disturbing and aggressive, and the police van remained parked there for over an hour. The couple were innocent of whatever charges they were suspected of and were eventually let go.

There has been a surge of violence in this area over the past five years. The son of a friend of mine was stabbed eight times last year in broad daylight on the same street as Saturday’s incident. Nobody will press charges against local gangs for fear of the inevitable payback.

I watched gang members smash the windows and rob the shop downstairs from me recently and could not get the police on the phone – I was held in a queue long after the smash-and-grabbers had left.

For years there has been no protection at all on the streets and now hordes of police are pulling over innocent citizens and causing real distress for no reason. Can the police get their house in order and start patrolling the gangs, and leave parents to do their shopping?
Chrissie Hynde
Maida Vale, London

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