Rainbow cars to reduce hate crime?

I’ve personally experienced the investigatory ‘expertise’ and crime-fighting skills of Cheshire Police over the last few years and consistently found them wanting.

I have to believe that police attention to politically correct issues have been to the detriment of effective policing.

I’m tempted to think things can’t get any worse, then yet another new initiative comes along which reassures me it can – and is.

The latest, from Cheshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Julie Cooke, is to introduce ‘rainbow’ painted police cars – which she believes are guaranteed to reduce hate crime

Sadly, other forces have bought into the idea and the “hate crime cars” will be introduced in forces across the country “in a bid to encourage more victims of anti-LGBT+ crimes to come forward to police.”

According to Stonewall 80 per cent of LGBT+ people don’t report hate crimes to the authorities. DCC Cooke believes her force’s colourful cars will change all that.

“They get all the police insignia put on them as normal, but there will be normally something added on that is to do with the rainbow side of things,” said DCC Cooke.

Explaining the initiative on social media, she said that the “cost is quite minimal”, but is assured that the impact is “huge”.

“Actually the cost is quite minimal but the confidence that it can bring by just having that rainbow on there… and people say to me the impact of seeing the rainbow is so huge,” she said.

“The idea is that the car is there in the community, generally on normal policing patrol, just to show the community that we want you to come forward. If something is happening that you know isn’t right we absolutely want you to come forward.

“It is there to give confidence to our LGBT+ community, but also to other under-represented groups.”

iilovemacc comment: Let’s face it, in 2021, if there’s been any sort of crime and the public are unable to provide the police with CCTV evidence, the perps will go free.

The police continually blame the government for funding cuts – but from our perspective the raft of politically correct initiatives – including what some have called “clown cars” are a gross waste of resources and can only serve to make the drivers of these vehicles the subject of derision by criminals.

Echoing the thoughts of Ms Cooke a UK pressure group are calling for police officers to stop dressing in paramilitary-style uniforms, which have become the norm.

One of our readers has suggested this photo of a ‘less-aggressive’ uniform may be a more suitable alternative when driving the new ‘rainbow’ cars.