From Colin Clarke.THE recent arrest of Senator Syvret does have a certain parallel with the old ‘how many men does it take to change a light bulb’ jokes.
Does it really require eight policeman to arrest a man who does not have the look of someone likely to duck down behind the sofa, and shoot out his lounge windows while shouting ‘You’ll never take me alive, copper’. I think not.
I would suggest that Mr Syvret’s penchant for armed resistance could be equated with Senator Perchard’s services to tact and diplomacy.
A couple of questions do spring to mind. Was Senator Syvret asked to ‘help the police with their inquiries’ before he was arrested, and declined to do so? Did whoever sanctioned the early morning raid have any idea how heavy handed and vindictive it would look, and if they didn’t, what particular planet are they living on, in the wake of the Damien Green affair?
I am not particularly enamoured with Mr Syvret’s political views, and I find his persona somewhat dour and humourless, but if this is an attempt to use a sledgehammer to crack a perceived nut, I think it will play very badly with a sizeable majority of this Island.
Bullying is a nasty trait, especially if the bullies have instruments at their disposal which the ordinary man in the street does not have access to.
Politics in Jersey seem to be becoming increasingly venal, with certain States Members unashamedly ditching vast swathes of their manifestos as soon as their feet are under the table.
If the manner of Mr Syvret’s arrest is a sign of the times, I would strongly advise against opening your door to any dawn callers for the foreseeable future – and if you must shoot out your lounge windows, please make sure you have a valid firearms certificate.
9 Miladi Farm, Longueville, St Saviour.
We obviously need more police
From David Rotherham.
I NOW understand why the police cannot maintain public order in St Helier: If good policing practice needs eight officers to bring in a middle-aged man in indifferent health for a technical whitecollar offence, it must surely take 24 or even 32 officers to subdue each suspect, when dealing with fit young men in a fighting rage.
Or 300-odd to break up a gang fight. But that would not be a police force, it would be an army of occupation.
Or, maybe I have misunderstood something, and eight to one to bring in non-violent suspects is not really good policing practice, just bullying.
No, of course our wonderful police would not do that.
So, let us get another 300 on the beat, so that we can police the town centre
properly.
Vue des Champs, Rue de la Petite Lande, Trinity.
They had nothing better to do
From Nigel Geary.
IT appears the police had nothing better to do on Monday, so they decided to have their spring party. However, they had forgotten to place their booking at the venue (Senator Syvret’s house), where he was totally unprepared for
this knees-up.
Or maybe they just fancied a nice drive out to the east of the Island on such a lovely day and thought they could drop in on Senator Syvret for a coffee in his garden.
This deployment of, apparently, eight officers was like something out of the Keystone Cops. What did they think Senator Syvret was going to do? Terrorise the Island with a loaded file of paperwork?
They would have been better deployed in these numbers around the Island to sort out these unruly youngsters who are terrorising the public.
2 The Willow Grove, Grands Vaux, St Saviour
You did not have the full facts
From David Warcup, Acting Chief Officer, States of Jersey Police.
I WRITE with reference to the editorial comment in yesterday’s Jersey Evening Post concerning the arrest of Senator Syvret. I accept the absolute right of the media to make comment; however, it is unfortunate that the editorial made a judgment that the actions of the States police were wrong, when the paper was not in possession of the full facts and the States police are not in a position to respond due to the ongoing investigation.
Police Headquarters, Rouge Bouillon, St Helier.