I WAS shocked and saddened to hear of the awful news of a stabbing near the Tesco Express at Paganhill last Saturday, December 19.

Our first thoughts and prayers go out to the victim and their family and wish them a very speedy recovery and the perpetrator is caught and dealt with through the courts accordingly.

It’s a sad refection on our society that this type of crime is committed on our streets especially in the area where this offence was committed.

Is Stroud a safe place to live, work and visit?

Yes, is my answer despite this wretched offence.

I believe our local authority has and is doing much for community safety and the police are doing a job which at times they cannot win.

Yes, front line policing should be protected, more police officers are needed to patrol our streets and to do away with what I call ‘goldfish bowl policing’ where we watch our police officers do drive by policing! I call for as I have always have, to Martin Surl, the present Police and Crime Commissioner and to the Chief Constable and to the local police command, that foot patrol is still an essential part of community policing despite the development of technology.

If the art of foot patrol was more readily enforced by the management of the police together with the powers to ‘stop and search’ carried out more vigorously without the fear of being risk adverse, we may, just may, have prevented this or another attack being carried out to another harmless victim.

I have in the past worn the police uniform for over 30 years, carried out foot patrol in all sorts of weathers and stopped and searched members of the public when I had the lawful grounds to do so and found what my grounds of the search yielded.

This was because of foot patrol policing, and getting out of police cars and mixing and talking to the public.

Much is missed when old style policing is not exercised as I do believe we as the public have the right to see officers actively involved on the streets as their mere presence can deter any crime which cannot be measured.

Let’s remember what Sir Robert Peel stated: “The police are the public and the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interest of community welfare and existence.”

We all have our part to play in a safer community and do what is right in helping and protecting each others as well as reporting violent offenders with out any fear.

Let’s pull together for a safer place to live, work and visit both for now and the future.

Mark Rees

Chairman of Stroud District Council (Lab, Cainscross)