EDITORIAL: Nothing can replace police on the beat

THE police cannot be everywhere all at once, but the latest available results from the Ipswich Safe Night Out precinct certainly show the value of having cops.

THE police cannot be everywhere all at once, but the latest available results from the Ipswich Safe Night Out precinct certainly show the value of having personnel on the beat.

Today's story by Adam Davies tells us something that most of us probably already suspected - that when all is said and done, Ipswich is still a relatively safe place to enjoy a night out.

We have reported throughout the year about the value of the Safe City Camera network, but it takes more than just surveillance to keep a city full of jolly drunks in check.

It may be a bit of an old-fashioned idea, but having police on the beat seems to work - not just in terms of being there to break up a drunken fracas, but to possibly stop one from happening in the first place.

For those of us who have a bit of respect for the boys and girls in blue, seeing them out and about at night certainly does help you pull your head in a bit.

I have seen the cops drag a few raving drunks away in a paddy wagon over the years, but I can probably say it was for the best on most of those occasions.

There are times when you might end up getting your name written in the book, or even facing the embarrassment of appearing before the Magistrate's Court, but that would still be preferable to winding up in the intensive care unit, hooked up to a machine.