More than 1,000 people have joined an online campaign calling on police chiefs to scrap a plan to reduce the number of officers patrolling in pairs.
The campaign, hosted on social networking site Facebook, appears to be supported by a number of police offers, reports the Press Association.
There are dozens of comments attributed to officers, largely targeted at the Metropolitan Police, where Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has spearheaded the move to single patrolling.
One police community support officer in Brixton, south London, said being left alone is “madness” and warned that “two heads are better than one”.
A recently-retired officer wrote: “It will take an officer to be injured or killed before a rethink, and then it will be too late.”
The Metropolitan Police said the views are “of concern” but denied that officers have been warned against joining the demonstration.
Last year, the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, told Personnel Today that police forces should “use discretion” when deciding whether to allow officers to patrol alone.
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