YOUR paper carried in its “in brief” column (Oxford Mail, June 25, page 7) that a police helicopter had been used to track a miscreant in the Blackbird Leys area, resulting in a charge of common assault being made against him.

What a waste of a costly helicopter being deployed. Common assault is a very minor offence. So who decided the helicopter should be deployed?

Don’t come up with the usual police jargon ‘well, it was in the area after re-fuelling’ as that excuse won’t wash.

It’s time the Thames Valley Police Commissioner Anthony Stansfield, pictured, got his act together and evaluated certain policing costs.

I would venture to suggest that he looks at a) abolition of the Thames Valley mounted section based at Milton Keynes – an over-subscribed luxury; b) the unnecessary need for police constables to be seen patrolling in twos, apart from in immediate response vehicles and new constables under instruction. This would double the amount of officers available for normal patrols (economic sense in my book); c) an assessment of the ‘squad mentality’ by empire builders within the police set-up, where different operations or squads are deployed (as recorded on page 2 of the Oxford Mail’s same edition namely Operation Buzzard – re street robberies involving 11 personnel and two dogs and also having extra patrols to run alongside Operation Brush.

To suggest that this annual police operation was to protect the reported 5,000 visitors must surely be a miscalculation in numbers coming to Oxford during the summer season.

These squad operations, unlike the recent high profile and necessary “Bullfinch Operation” could otherwise be dealt with by proper supervision of well-briefed constables to patrol our streets and give visible reassurance to Joe Public whose faith in the police service has considerably dipped; d) crime detection figures have for years been manipulated and when senior officers report that they are lowering them – they never take in the fact that, due to the current lack of faith in the system and the poor detection rates, some victims don’t even bother to report some minor crimes at all.

In conclusion, a certain retired high ranking police officer, a few months ago went into a café in Gloucester Green and found a police sergeant and six officers using the facilities and when he asked the reason, he was told by the supervising sergeant: “Oh that’s how it is these days.”

Time, Mr Commissioner, to change this type of attitude, and bring some pride back into the police force and give the ratepayers true value from their police servants.

MICHAEL RHYMES Warborough Court Kidlington