I arrived home recently to find three cop cars parked outside my place. Oh dear, had my cat, left at home by herself, been naughty? But no, the cop cars, and the semi-automatics, and the hand guns in sheaths, and the tasers, were not about my place, they were because my neighbours down the road were fighting – again.
I do not minimise what goes on in that house. My parents were drunks who fought each other nightly in our posh house as the Gordon fortunes waned dramatically in front of our eyes. It was terrible and I suffered for years from nightmares and anxiety.
The family down the road have been the subject of many, many police callouts. I do fear that one day he will kill her. But, even so, the police do not usually turn up on a warm autumn afternoon in full armament.
As far as I know, there was not even an arrest that day.
The police are arming up more and more before our eyes. Last year I went to a forum where the officer present was in full stab proof jacket and a large yellow taser sticking out of his front. At a little suburban forum on alcohol. I think that this is entirely inappropriate. The police should be practicing de-escalation techniques, not strutting around with armaments.
You will say I am naïve, that it is hard out there. And I know this to be true. But the police must avoid over-reaction. Shows of force do not diminish harm but make things worse. They are not going to stop that man harming that woman. The hard yards include ongoing community education, techniques of de-escalation, anger management, and encouraging women to walk out of dangerous situations.
Come and have a cuppa with me. I can help. No guns, though. No weapons. Just peace.
