Don’t blame Derbyshire police for trying to save us from ourselves

If you read some of the tabloid headlines this week, you might have thought that Derbyshire had overnight become a police state.
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There was outrage from some quarters that the long arm of the law had over-reached itself in our part of the world.

The county constabulary was blasted for wasting time and money on becoming bureaucratic killjoys - as they poured dye into lakes and took Big Brother’s all seeing eyes into the skies to stop people enjoying our beautiful countryside.

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The sanctimonious whine of those who complain ‘haven’t they got better things to do – like catch REAL criminals’ is the fallback position of those who always feel themselves above the law.

Police have spent years trying to keep people away from the notorious Blue Lagoon.Police have spent years trying to keep people away from the notorious Blue Lagoon.
Police have spent years trying to keep people away from the notorious Blue Lagoon.

It’s heard most often by those caught speeding – drivers who still believe they are upstanding citizens, despite the fact their reckless actions are putting the lives of others at risk.

Laws are made for a reason, by Government’s which we voted for. All the police do is try to uphold them.

Some of the vitriol towards Derbyshire police has shown the apparent ignorance of the London media who seem to get a nose bleed if they venture any further north than Watford.

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The dye poured into the ‘blue lagoon’ near Buxton is a classic example.

Far from being a ‘beauty spot’ as some reports labelled it, the pool is a former disused quarry containing toxic chemicals which the authorities have routinely discoloured for years to stop people risking their lives swimming in its beguiling blue waters.

And police were not using drones to spy on law-abiding people in the Peak – or attempting to bump up arrest numbers by feeling the collars of wax-jacket wearing walkers.

They were highlighting people who were ignoring rules about not travelling more than is necessary during this crisis.

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Rules designed to protect our NHS staff from becoming swamped as they battle to save thousands of lives.

Police have a difficult job in these extraordinary times, protecting our hard-won freedoms – and saving us from ourselves.

We shouldn’t criticise them as they perform that tricking balancing act, walking the tightrope that is the thin blue line.