Mrs Miggins was sat in her living room watching telly one Friday night. Her refuge from the outside world, winding down after a hard week working in her pie shop by watching “People Who Used to Be on the Telly Falling Over, On Ice”.

Just as that guy who was in some soap in the 80’s attempts a triple axel back flip, a brick comes crashing through the living room window. She looks out of her window to see that there are only three people in the street. Three hooded male youths, walking away laughing.

Incensed at their disregard for the sanctity of her home and their carefree attitude to the crime they’ve just committed, she puts on her slippers, grabs her mobile phone and follows them while calling the police. She watches The Bill, CID will be on their way on blue lights with ASPs racked ready to go. Sun Hill’s best are just seconds away.

When the call comes over the radio, a PCSO colleague and I are close. It’s technically not within our ‘remit’, but my conscience won’t allow me to ignore it. Mrs Miggins doesn’t know exactly where she is, having followed these youths down the maze of back alleys in the area. There is a response unit on route from the town police station (which has been conveniently relocated from the town centre to the very outskirt of the town) so we attend to assist with an area search for Mrs Miggins.

We find her before the response unit does. By this time two of the youths have run off after realising they’re being followed. We find Mrs Miggins ‘discussing’ the incident with the third youth who was offended at being followed. Apparently it was one of the other two that threw the stone and he doesn’t know who they are. They threw it because they’ve fallen out with Mrs Miggins’ son at school.

The response unit arrives quickly, despite coming from the other end of the town, and gets the same story. They’ve got the youth’s ID from a provisional driving license. His given address checks out on his ID and the computer in the control room. He’s being placid and co-operative, but won’t grass on his mates. Mrs Miggins didn’t see who threw the stone. The response officers decide there’s not enough evidence or necessity for an arrest, the youth can be traced later if needed.

The response unit then go to search for the two that ran off, leaving my colleague and myself to take details for the crime report so it can be investigated in slow time if the response officers don’t find the two that ran off; and we explain the investigation process to Mrs Miggins.

The victim’s happy with the police’s response, happy with what’s going to happen next and why. We offer to arrange the boarding up of her window and do a bit of NPT hat and chat. Job done.

But my colleague then says something to Mrs Miggins that makes me cringe. “Next time, don’t put yourself at risk by following them, just call us.”

I thought Mrs Miggins had done the right thing. She refused to accept their behaviour and refused to let them get away with it. She wasn't attempting to issue some summary justice or take revenge. She hadn’t challenged them, just assisted us by trying to keep us updated as to where they were. And she felt safe in doing so.

Now someone from the police is telling her that it’s not safe to do that. She’ll take that statement as ‘official police advice’. Mrs Miggins now thinks she has to put up with being a victim, it’s not safe for her to do anything about it; it’s solely the police’s responsibility. She won’t tell rowdy kids on the back of the bus to behave any more in case she gets stabbed.

When it comes to this buzz phrase “the fear of crime”, I don’t believe we should be targeting resources at reducing the fear of crime. I think if we actually reduce crime (not just crime figures) then the ‘fear of crime’ will automatically be reduced. But I certainly don’t think we should be adding to people’s fear of crime.

I challenged my PCSO colleague over what she said. Her reply was along the lines of:

“A lone female following three male hoodies down a dark alley is dangerous. If we tell her it’s ok to do that and then next time she get’s beaten up then I’d never forgive myself and I’d get into trouble for giving her that advice”.

There are three things wrong with that statement that angers me, each worthy of a post in their own right.

1) That danger lurks around every un-risk-assessed corner. And the idea that all risk is unacceptable, regardless of the situation and context. Some things are actually worth the risk. A free, fair and safe society is one of them.

2) That my colleague put her possible future feelings of guilt before the victim’s feelings in the here and now.

3) That my colleague is so afraid of making a wrong decision or giving the wrong advice that she plays it safe to the extreme. (This one may receive its own post to explain my views on this fully)

I’m using my colleague as an example here, but I know these ideas are rife within society as a whole.I do acknowledged that she could have been in danger. What I object to is the idea that she was in danger. Mrs Miggins should be allowed to judge the risk for herself.

When Sir Robert Peel founded the police he said:

“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 interests of community welfare and existence.”

It’s time that society as a whole decided to take responsibility for deciding what is acceptable and fighting for it rather than leaving it to someone else to do.

I just hope Mrs Miggins still feels the same.