Excellent initiative by the Home Office to combat the scourge of binge drinking and yob culture which seemes to be roaring out of control. Excellent, that is, in theory. As the Times reports, it's an attempt to replicate a successful scheme in the US by the very guy who carried that out:

'The blitz will be directed by Paul Evans, the former Boston police chief chosen by David Blunkett to head the Home Office unit dedicated to improving police performance. Mr Evans led a campaign in the US against under-age drinking in which police were stationed in off-licences to stop drink being sold to anyone under 21 and campaigns were mounted in colleges and schools. His blitz in Britain will involve police mounting “sting operations” to catch off-licences, bars and clubs selling to under-18s. It will begin in June and last for six to eight weeks. Premises and landlords found to have broken the law will risk losing their licences and may be closed down.'

Th's fine and dandy and can only have a positive effect. But it nevertheless raises various questions. For this is the UK, not the US. The scheme is scheduled to last up to eight weeks. What happens then? For what the plan involves is something that is now considered totally foreign to Britain. It is the idea that the law matters, that it actively shapes people's behaviour and that it must therefore be consistently enforced. Zero tolerance, in other words, of disorder. That is the philosophy of policing that has turned crime round in the US.

But in Britain, we don't have zero tolerance of disorder. On the contrary, we are moving towards zero tolerance of the very idea of law. Look at the law on soft drugs, for example. The police gave up on enforcing it; progressive opinion then said the fact that the law was being ignored meant it was an ass; various senior police officers then started saying the way to solve the problem of illegal drugs was to get rid of the law and make them legal. A similar process is under way with alcohol. The government's earlier response to binge drinking, let us not forget, was to allow the pubs to open all night. What Mr Evans is proposing, after all, is little more than proper policing and enforcement of the law. The fact that he has to make a song and dance about it shows how far policing has moved away from what it should be doing.

And how is he going to ensure the police now actually do this? For look at the current preoccupations of the boys in blue. As the Telegraph reports:

'A police force became embroiled in a row over sex discrimination yesterday after it issued a new dress code banning male officers from wearing earrings on duty. Paul Kernaghan, the chief constable of Hampshire Police, said he was anxious to smarten up the appearance of uniform officers and it was thought that the public did not want to see male officers wearing earrings. Female officers, however, can continue to wear earrings, as long as they are of the stud variety. The edict has angered some officers, who feel the ruling is discriminatory. Gay officers said the policy sent out an anti-homosexual message. Wearing a ring in the right ear has become a symbol of homosexuality among gay men. The force has been warned that the policy could face a legal challenge and the Police Federation has said it plans to take up the issue.'

Or what about the force in North Wales, where Deputy Chief Constable Clive Wolfendale spends his energies composing rap presentations to his Black Police Association, so he can deliver the following important message:

'I'm just a white boy called the Deputy CC / They said I'd never make it as a bitchin' MC / You got it all wrong, cos now here I am / Giving it for real in the North Wales BPA jam /They call me Roxy, or Ms Dynamo on stage / Unlike my brother here, I never look my age / I'm goin' to spill it all about the boys in blue / Show you what it's like within the not-so-solid crew'

and more in that creative vein. And let's not forget the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, who no less than seven years after the death of Diana, Princes of Wales, visited the scene of the accident in the Alma tunnel in Paris this week -- no doubt to look for those important clues that might still be lying around. As the Guardian reported:

'But as the estimated cost of the inquiry, which was ordered by Mr Burgess, doubled to £2m yesterday, there were questions about the scale of the investigation and the need for the involvement of Sir John himself. Many victims of crime, who gathered yesterday at a conference to call for more support from the police, expressed anger at the money being spent on an investigation into a car accident which has already been examined by French detectives.'

Mr Evans, you've got your work cut out.