IN recent years, unnecessary bureaucracy and political correctness have crept into police work, and this week I witnessed first hand a prime example.

Leader of the Opposition Michael Howard was scheduled to attend a joint police/warden briefing in Middlesbrough, before moving on elsewhere to make a major Conservative policy announcement.

Heavy rain delayed Mr Howard and meant he missed the briefing, but in hindsight this may not have been a bad thing.

As the invited media watched, an inspector outlined the planned raids to the assembled wardens and police. I know from experience how crucial these briefings are. Now is the time for the senior ranks to show leadership and to inspire their officers to get stuck in. So I was appalled that the briefing culminated in the inspector pontificating about the Human Rights Act and quoting various sub-sections of a Home Office objective.

As our wardens and police officers left the briefing, the words ringing in their ears were not "catch those villains", "protect the public" or even "get stuck in", but a load of twaddle about Home Office objectives and the minutiae of the Human Rights Act.

I sat there listening with growing despair to this officer. Not his fault, apparently such legal disclaimers are obligatory. Alongside me was the Chief Constable of Cleveland, Sean Price, who for the past 12 months has heard my views on political correctness. I was also aware that later that day Mr Howard would be speaking out against political correctness.

But my biggest concern was the message this was sending out to our wardens and police officers. They want to get stuck in, to root out the criminals - it's why they took the job in the first place and they have a right to expect support and encouragement from their bosses. I was next to speak and I freely admit I was seething and determined to make it perfectly clear to everyone in that briefing that the core role of police and wardens is to intervene to protect the public and prevent crime and disorder.

Now, before any mischief makers twist my words, I have never encouraged anyone to turn a blind eye to the law and I always stress to police and wardens that their actions must be controlled, honourable, and in the interests of the public - that makes it legal. But there is a time and place for everything. Police officers know the laws of the land and do not need to be hit over the head with the Human Rights Act and other bureaucracy everytime they set off on the beat.

So I made it clear that if criminals refuse to co-operate then I'm quite happy for their doors to be smashed in and for them to be dragged to the police station. If criminals have a problem with that then I suggest they go straight, not bleat on about human rights. What pleased me as I left the room was the words of support I received from the rank and file officers who were present and about to take to the streets.

I fear a culture has entered the middle ranks of the police in which officers on the promotion trail feel obliged to add lengthy bureaucratic caveats to everything they say. The result is that police officers effectively go out on the beat with the shadow of political correctness looming large in their thinking. It's damaging and totally unnecessary and I for one will continue to call for change at every opportunity as the General Election looms.