SIR – An unpublicised [we ran the story in the WHT – Ed] survey conducted online by Hertfordshire Police Authority – the results of which will be used to decide future policy likely to affect the one million-plus population of this county – states that the majority of people are quite happy to see a 15 per cent rise in council tax to save 200 police posts.

I am glad to see that democracy is still alive in Hertfordshire.

Based on 1,800 replies, (a sample of 0.18 per cent of the population making decisions that affect the other 99.82 per cent) they have come to this conclusion and I do not believe that all 1,800 surveyed, voted yes.

Oh, silly me, I have forgotten that no-one is allowed to have an opinion that does not concur with the current ruling party’s policies, something we have all come to accept without question during this current Government’s period of rule.

Twenty years ago we would have laughed at this had we been told this was happening in what was the Soviet Union, or the Middle East!

As a council tax payer in WGC and based on personal experience, losing 400 police would make little or no difference to the quality of policing received in this area.

The big question is accountability; where are all the police we currently pay for?

Policing levels have consistently risen in the last few years, yet the quality of policing has not.

Prove to the taxpayer there is a real need. To do this, I suggest that every policeman on street duty wears a GPS unit which the public could then view via the police website, and then the taxpayer would be able to see just how few police are in a visible position at any one time of the day.

To add to the chaos, Hertfordshire is now being asked to fund Bedfordshire in a merger proposal, what a joke!

This proposal would give even less accountability than already exists, but I expect there will be more jobs for the ‘boys’ with massively overpaid salaries and inflated pensions.

If these proposals move forward then I believe we have reached a point where we should have an elected county mayor and chief of police who really would become accountable.

Out of interest, perhaps our current chief constable would like to publish monthly figures in the local papers, or even on their website, showing just how many officers were actually on the streets of Hertfordshire during each shift and what proportion of that shift they spent on the street.

Then we the taxpayers, might agree to an increase in council tax when we can see we are getting value for money, but until such a time I personally vote no!

A Barrington-Hill,

WGC.