If you're wondering why the police don't have time to deal with your stolen car or stolen wallet then read this book. By demanding targets and accountability and a paper trail we tie the police up in knots so that they spend too much time covering their backs and filling in forms rather than catching criminals.

Which is better - having the odd thing go wrong without being able to attribute it to an individual and having a higher detection rate and quick response times; or being able to work out what happened when and who was responsible and fewer crimes detected and having to wait a week for the police to respond to your call? I know which I prefer and I would say stop having so many people checking what's going on and more people doing the job they're trained to do.

When you've read the book you will start wondering how we got from the only record being the beat bobby's pocket book to forms in triplicate and about twenty people checking on what one person is doing. There are laugh out loud funny episodes in this book but there are also episodes which will make you tear your hair out in frustration. There are shades of almost any big organisation in this book and I know I found myself nodding my head in recognition over some of the procedures.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what being a police officer in twenty first century Britain is all about.