A police inspector who bans his officers from hanging around their station during shifts was today hailed as a 'bit of a hero' who proved it was possible 'to do more with less' in the face of budget cuts.
Inspector Frank Donnelly operates an 'exclusion zone' at the police stations he runs in Bedfordshire, meaning officers are forced to go out on the beat during the dark winter evenings.
He has told his subordinates they will be challenged and must come up with a valid reason, such as interviewing a suspect, if he catches them at one of the police stations he operates in Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable or Biggleswade.
The tough approach has led to a 67 per cent per cent reduction in crime between June and December 2011 compared to the same period in 2010, according to Tory MP Andrew Selous, who went out on the beat with Insp Donnelly last Friday between 6pm and 2am.
The MP for South West Bedfordshire said: 'Inspector Donnelly is a bit of a hero. He runs these police station exclusion zones during the dark evenings when people's houses get hit by burglars.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1jKuXdZUQ
I hope he's fast tracked as the next Thames Valley Chief Constable - we could do with a RoboCop round here
