Salford's Finest

Let no-one tell you that community policing doesn't work and certainly don't let them suggest that policing is broken. The law may be an ass but the boys and girls in blue (although these days they actually wear black and white with some fluorescent high-vis yellow for good measure) are doing a mighty fine job with very little thanks!

It's a sad truth that the fine weather has brought out the rowdy element in my local neighbourhood. Several days and nights in recent weeks we have been plagued by the throaty roar of off-road bikes and quad bikes, either racing up and down our streets or racing around our local park. This activity is an irritation (the noise echoes around terraced streets like a banshee wail) but it is also reckless and dangerous. These bikes are not road legal, which means they are not insured. If one of them hits your car or some other property, the repair cost will be left up to you, not the irresponsible individual that caused the damage. As they are designed for off-road use they often have non-standard tyres that are not necessarily suitable for use on a road surface and they invariably have no mirrors or headlights. At night, in the park, the bikes are impossible to see, and the riders themselves can't see anything either, which makes their behaviour all the more frightening.

During the course of the past couple of weeks, we have always made a point to report activity like this to the police using the Police Non-Emergency telephone number. We don't expect that anyone will be caught - I admit that it would be almost sheer luck if a vehicle was in the area at the time and able to stop the rider and seize the bike - but it identifies the problems and lets the police know where the issues are happening. With this information in hand the police can direct their resources more effectively and maybe the next time there will be a vehicle in the area.

As if proof were ever needed that this principle works, while I was out tonight, I met some of out community police officers in the park. In response to the problems of the last few weeks, they have been able to send a couple of bobbies on bicycles up to the park, acting as a deterrent and improving the likelihood of catching someone in the act. When I met them, they were chatting to a group of older teenagers who sometimes use the park to hangout. No-one was doing anything wrong on this occasion, but it's great to see action being taken.

So, the moral of the story: if you have problems in your area that requires police assistance, you need to let them know about it. The best way to do that is to call the Police Non-Emergency number, which is 0161 872 5050 (at least it is for Salford!) or go to community committee meetings, where there will usually be an officer or two in attendance. Our police service is an asset and I'd like to thank our local policing team for all their efforts to date.

Burka Ban

Courtesy BBC.co.uk

It began with the smallest of steps: the banning of the Hijab head scarf in French schools in September 2004. Today, the French Government introduces another law that curtails individual and religious freedom. From today, it is illegal for a woman to wear a veil covering her face in France. A woman's choice over what she can wear, both as an individual and as a Muslim. A woman seen wearing a veil will face a fine and may be subject to an investigation.

Representatives of the French Government have said that the new law has been introduced to protect minorities. Sihem Habchi, a Muslim woman that has worked on introducing the ban has been reported to say "Five years ago hardly anyone wore the Niqab [full length garment that conceals everything except the eyes]. In another five years we will be like England where there are neighbourhoods and ghettos full of women wearing them." To me, this statement seems to reveal an underlying fear that women who choose to wear the veil are creating a problem for all Muslims. This kind of irrationality should never been translated into law. The French Government says that the veil relegates wearers to an inferior status. However, I argue that inferiority is not a matter of what a woman choose to wear, it is a matter of how other people choose to treat her. When I see a woman in the street that is wearing a Burka or Niqab I do not view her with fear and do not feel that I am better than her. I see a woman demonstrating a commitment to her religious beliefs. I see a woman that is proud to be a Muslim and proud of that part of her culture.

In my eyes there is little difference between wearing a Niqab and wearing a cross or wearing Jewish yamaka. By identifying yourself with one of these symbols, you open yourself to the possibility of criticism, victimisation and attack. By identifying yourself as different you risk attracting the scorn of others, but are you at fault for wearing the garment? No!

By introducing this law, the French hope to engineer a more equal society but what is more important; an 'equal' society where equality means everyone must dress and act the same way, or an inclusive and free society where people can dress as they please and observe their religion as they see fit. One of these two societies reminds me an awful lot of a certain novel by George Orwell.