ONE of the things police officers attending relatively minor incidents appear to despise is being quizzed by the public over whether they have nothing better to do with their time.
But as far as the unnecessary crackdown on pipers on the Royal Mile is concerned it is a perfectly justifiable question.
It is easy to understand the irritation of local residents at the constant sound of daytime music, especially the dreadful
canned din that blares out from some souvenir shops. But they have chosen to live in the heart of a city that relies heavily on tourism and it is unrealistic of them to object to the associated noise and bustle.
The over-reaction by the police to complaints about pipers is difficult to comprehend, especially as licensed performers are allowed in areas of the Royal Mile during the Festivals. Issuing Asbos to pipers, arresting those who breach the agreements and confiscating instruments is an astonishing way to treat performers in an area swamped by tourists. A more sensible approach would have been to seek some compromise with the musicians over numbers and duration and let council environmental wardens administer the scheme.
It is ironic that this should happen at a time when the police are enjoying some real success in tackling city-centre crime, which has fallen by nine per cent over the past year. Council funding of extra city-centre night patrols has seen the number of offences fall from almost 13,000 to just over 11,500 in the past year. And in the past week or so they have announced they will be stepping up mounted patrols in the Meadows, where an already unsavoury reputation for muggings and attacks seems to have worsened.
Such well-measured initiatives are to be applauded and will help maintain confidence from locals and visitors alike that Edinburgh is a relatively safe place in which to move about. But if beat officers now have enough time to harass street musicians then it suggests that either there is a lot more real crime going undetected or they should be re-deployed elsewhere.
This campaign is a Draconian measure against otherwise law-abiding citizens based on an overreaction to the complaints of a few individuals. But after this week's announcement of anti-drinking proposals, how typical it is of the authorities to deal with the problems of a few by attacking the enjoyment of many.
And how can the Chief Constable legitimately complain that his force is not being adequately funded to meet the special needs of policing a capital city when his officers are persecuting traditional Scottish musicians doing nothing more criminal than entertaining passers-by? A new sense of priorities and perspective is needed.
