05/03/2012 Inside Out West


05/03/2012

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Transcript


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Hello. Coming up on the programme tonight - the questions being faced

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by the durable leather manufacturer Pittards over the water coming out

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of its Ethiopian factory. Also tonight, elected police and

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crime commissioners, are they or one American import we can do

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without? I personally have a lot of reservations about police and crime

:00:27.:00:30.

commissioners, but it is going to happen, so I need to find out more

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about it. And I retrace the tyre tracks of

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the factory worker who a century ago immortalised rural life in

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Wiltshire. Horrible! With surprising stories from close

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Pittards of Yeovil is proud of its manufacturing relationship with

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Ethiopia. But now, the company's high environmental standards are

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being brought into question. Our reporter investigate concerns about

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the water coming out of Pittards's Ethiopian plant.

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Africa is just one of the regions where Pittards has expanded its

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Paris business, but it links with a Yeovil date back to 1826. This is a

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highly prized business asset in this part of Somerset. And despite

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the economic downturn, the company is doing reasonably well, part of

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the reason for that is because Pittards, like many Western

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manufacturers, have moved much of their operations away from the

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traditional home base to overseas. Inside the Yeovil factory, we

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joined Pittards chief executive Reg Hankey. He is no stranger to the

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global market. What is stacked up here, thousands of hides and skins?

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This is the stuff we have here, it comes from many countries, the

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largest source of supply is Ethiopia, and effectively, we have

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pandered the material and brought it in as Christ, this is the

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starting base for the factory we have here. Why Ethiopia? What is so

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good about it? The simple reason is that Ethiopia has the largest flock

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of this particular animal. It is hair she'd, which is a sheep as you

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know it, but Herr rather than a wall. What will happen eventually?

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It will end up as leather. The clothing market, while it is small

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in the lead the world, very important to us. -- in the leather

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world. A their Yeovil plant employs around 200 staff. These are jobs

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which haven't changed for decades, accept that many are now done by

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Pittards employees in Ethiopia. 700 of them, processing 16,000 goat and

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sheepskins every day. The man in charge considers it used you appear

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very much part of the Yeovil family. -- considers Ethiopia very much

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part of the Yeovil family. We have the same machines, the same

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equipment, we have replicated or what we do here in Ethiopia, we

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have to make it a standard. there a temptation to cut corners

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out there? It is a long way away, out of sight, out of mind? Not for

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me or for the people here, I'm out there several times a year. We are

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as embedded in Ethiopia as we are here. The employees, we have 700 at

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the tannery, another 300 in Addis Ababa, they are all our staff.

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Ethiopia, as far as we are concerned, is the same company on a

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different site. Ethiopia has more than pointed tanneries, processing

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skins and hides left over from the country's abundant meat industry.

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Pittards took over this plant in 2009, it is the largest in Ethiopia,

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and is in the Oromia region, which has witnessed a huge industrial

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growth in recent years. Concerns have been raised about pollution in

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the area. We learnt of concerns about a fluent discharge from

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Pittards factory. -- effluent. We sent a researcher to investigate.

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Just to give you an idea, that is the factory there, and it is black,

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the water is black. It smells a very potent, very strong, not quite

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like rotten eggs, but not dissimilar. Our researcher of

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followed a stream back to the family -- a factory. Pittards have

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told us they outflow has primary, secondary and tertiary treatment,

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and they also own the land here, allowing farmers to use it.-1 to

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the complaint we research, they produced this letter, written by

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the local farmers' association after we had filmed at the factory.

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They state that no land is spoiled by the tannery, and they are always

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happy and appreciate the good activities of the Tenerife. But our

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research has break to a farmer with a different view. TRANSLATION: The

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factory discharge has been polluting the water for some time.

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We cannot use it now to water the fields. Pittards dispute that claim,

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saying that weekly checks show the effluent is within acceptable

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limits. We showed our footage of the stream towards expert from

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Greenpeace. They are based at Exeter University. It is hard to

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say whether that affluent has had any treatment at all. Certainly,

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primary treatment may have been used to settle out some of the

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heavier particles, but clearly, there is a lot of suspended

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material in the discharge as standard practice. It would not be

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considered to be a safe practice to be releasing effluent of that

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quality, even that visual quality, to the environment. Doesn't matter

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whether the land on to which it is being released is owned by the same

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company or not. At the point in which it is exiting from the

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factory, the responsibility is being given over by the company to

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the environment to clean up its waste, and that is totally

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unacceptable. Pittards told us that letting affluent water discharged

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to land in this way is a treatment process used globally in the

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tannery industry. Greenpeace say they would like to know more.

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Whether there is a problem which is limited in time, some think they

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are aware of and are trying to sort out, I think they are questions to

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be put to Pittards, and I would find it hard to understand if

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Pittards, as a responsible company, would be happy with seen this kind

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of evidence coming from one of their factories. Pittards studied

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the footage as well. The Co op reassured us that they discharge is

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thoroughly protest. -- processed. We have a major effluent treatment

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plant in the Ethiopia tannery, it is probably the largest in Ethiopia,

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and probably the best in Ethiopia, we have a lot of commendations for

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it. We have primary, secondary and third level treatment, a biological

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treatment plant, so it is a very serious piece of work, our

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treatment. The standards to which we work in Ethiopia are actually

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more stringent than in Yeovil. The discharge averages that we have in

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Ethiopia are much tighter. Hankey went on to say there are

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planned for a huge reed bed here, with the plant helping with the

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final clean-up of the affluent water. All part of a drive towards

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becoming a zero waste factory. They are keen also to highlight other

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benefits they have brought to the area. They run a clinic on site for

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employees and their family, and help a local school. Perhaps in

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buying the plant in 2009, they inherited problems which preceded

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their ownership of the factory. TRANSLATION: I am happy the factory

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created jobs for some farmers. But at the same time, the factory has

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to improve the water that is being discharged. Ensuring the highest

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environmental standards isn't just about appealing a few locals --

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appeasing a few locals around the Ethiopian factory. It is also vital

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for consumers who question ever harder where, and under what

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conditions, could have been made. Consumers in this day and age, me

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or you or anybody else, we are concerned about supply chains.

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Globalisation has brought issues, and I think the old values come

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from the old companies such as ours, we have been on the back foot as

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manufacturer to for a long time now, but actually, when you re-examine

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the week -- old values, they are still valleys in this day and age.

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-- still valid. It is time we stepped up and applied those old

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values of responsibility to the supply chain. We are totally

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Later in the programme, the life of a great Swindon poet, set to music

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at the Uffington White Horse. How would you like to be

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responsible for your local police force? The job is open to anyone

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who can win enough votes in December of -- November. But do we

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need enough -- elected police and Crown Commissioners, or could it be

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an expensive mistake? From air-conditioning to tabard

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computers, we are quite used to the odd American idea over here.

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Obviously, some fitting better than others.

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So what about police commissioners? A senior politician who holds the

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purse-strings and tells the police what to do. They have had been in

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the US for years, but will they work in this country? One person

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keen to find out is Jeff Osborn. He used to be the chief constable of

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Gloucestershire police, now he's considering being the country's --

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county's first elected police and crime commissioner. I I have a lot

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of reservations, but it is going to happen, so I need to find out a lot

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more about it. We are sending him on a fact-finding mission over the

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border into Wiltshire, which boasts one of the lowest crime rate in the

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country, and we have even provided him with wheels. He had better get

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comfortable. It is going to be a long journey. His first meeting is

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with Inspector Kate Pain. She is the chair of Wiltshire Police

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Federation, which has been representing rank and file officers

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for nearly 100 years. I think in terms of operation -- operational

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policing, they will not be any impact, but the question around to

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morale is interesting. In Wiltshire, we are reducing officer numbers as

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is common around the country, and we are willing to spend �125

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million on electing a police commissioner at a time when

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policing budgets are under such pressure, I think it is difficult.

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These commissioners are going to be given a huge amount of power, power

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vested in one person. Do you think it is a good idea it they are

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elected? It is about accountability, so there should be elected

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accountability, yes, they are made up of independent councillors as

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well as members, so I would argue that accountability is in place and

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She has made two very important point, the first one was about

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costs, �120 million when we're losing police officers, and that

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will be spent on party political elections. And, she is dressed, the

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police are already accountable. There is a lot of stress on police

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and accountability. Next, he goes to Trowbridge where

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Welsh a council is based. At the moment, councils have a way in

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which the police is run, but with this new elected representative, it

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would be the end of this. He is meeting Councillor Jeff Osborne, a

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member with an interest in community development and local

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residents' groups. What you think of the qualities that unelected

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crime commissioner will have to have and will they not be a party

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politician? If not, he will have to be when he gets there any way! He

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will have to have a profile so people know who he actually is. It

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has to be someone that has a high position in some public authority

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are even a private authority and understands how such large

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organisations work. Is there not a danger that extreme parties can get

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elected from the far-right, the BNP, for example? I may be naive, but I

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believe in the common sense of the British people and when you say

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that parlty cannot stand and this party cannot stand, this is a

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slippery slope. I do not think we should start saying that we can

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have any body but the BNP or anybody but the Socialist Workers'

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Party, I didn't think you can say that. I think what he has

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emphasised their his it is likely to be a party politician that is

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elected, but there is a slight chance that an extremist candidate,

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maybe from something like the BNP, could get through.

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As it stands, no candidate of any party has put their names forward

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in Wiltshire. Perhaps they don't know what the job holds for them.

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Time to look at how things work in America where Inside Out has been

:15:24.:15:30.

to seek a serving police commissioner in action. In

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Springfield Massachusetts, there were 19 murders last year. Drugs

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very big problems. Things are improving. In a list of America's

:15:39.:15:44.

most crime-ridden cities, Springfield Massachusetts has

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plummeted from 18th in 2003 to 51st today. Many in the City put this

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down to one man. But Police Commissioner position, as it exists

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in Springfield, is the chief executive of the police department

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and that is in all phases. Administrator of, budget,

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employment faces, it is all a composing. -- and cumbersome.

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have the strategies for combating crime has been introducing a

:16:17.:16:21.

network of microphones that covers three square miles of the City

:16:21.:16:25.

centre with computers in every patrol car. This is how long it

:16:25.:16:29.

takes for every cop on the street to know there has been a shooting.

:16:29.:16:34.

It tells you exactly where it happened. Tactics like this have

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come about thanks to the commissioners the public profile,

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communicating his policy to be community and listening to their

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needs. Exactly what the Government wants to happen here. The footage

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from North America is really interesting, but the question is,

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will it work in Wiltshire? Crime is coming down here, people feel safe,

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the police are happy with the system. Sure, the current system

:17:01.:17:06.

could work better, but you have to ask the question, is the

:17:06.:17:12.

commissioner the right to fix for To get answers for this question

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and others raised by this fact- finding mission, we go to meet one

:17:16.:17:21.

of the architects of the new policy. Blair Gibbs is head of crime and

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justice at the Conservative think- tank policy exchanged and they are

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advising the Government on how to put this system into practice.

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Policing is one of the most important public services but the

:17:35.:17:38.

police cannot choose their police force, so we took the view that

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what the public need is greater clarity. They need one person that

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is responsible for crime and public safety in their neighbourhood, not

:17:47.:17:52.

a committee of were the people that spent a long time on the police are

:17:52.:17:56.

authority and er maybe quite experienced, but do not know the

:17:56.:18:00.

public. A single person has that advantage and having to be elected

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means they will have to going public and meet the public and win

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their support and deliver. What about the costs, the current

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estimate is up to �120 million. This is the first time that the

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public will get a say, and elections cost money. The important

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thing is this is that coming from the police budget, so it is not a

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question of losing money in the police, the benefit is, you have a

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clear mandate for the person that is responsible for the police and

:18:29.:18:33.

you can hold them to account. commissioner will be well paid,

:18:34.:18:37.

they will almost certainly come from the mainstream political

:18:37.:18:41.

parties with very little room for an independence to get elected,

:18:41.:18:45.

isn't this really jobs for the boys? We need to hope that we have

:18:45.:18:49.

some good people waiting to stand. It is an important office and an

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important role and hopefully we will get people from outside

:18:52.:18:57.

politics. So, as strong defence, predictably, from the organisation

:18:57.:19:01.

that came up with the commissioner post. With campaigning getting

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started and the public still largely in the dark about the whole

:19:05.:19:10.

thing, how do we think it will pan out? There is a danger that many

:19:10.:19:15.

people will get elected by putting party politics before police saying.

:19:15.:19:19.

Policing works best when it is independent of party politics and

:19:19.:19:25.

people put local policing issues first. For that to continue, we

:19:25.:19:31.

really need strong, independent candidates.

:19:31.:19:35.

Finally tonight, the working-class man from Wiltshire who were in 1912

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got on his bike to record the legends and landmarks in the

:19:40.:19:44.

villages he loved. Offered Williams was so worried about rural

:19:44.:19:47.

traditions dying out that he wrote the book, Villages of the White

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Horse. -- Alfred Williams. 100 years later, I am retracing his

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tracks. I am in South Marston in Swindon,

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the home of one of the areas forgotten heroes, Alfred Williams.

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By day, he worked for the Great Western Railway works and by night

:20:07.:20:13.

he wrote about his life. 100 years ago he was nationally famous as a

:20:13.:20:19.

Hammerman poet. I was in my song triumphantly and I will finish my

:20:19.:20:25.

race. I will work my task. He was also a travel writer, touring

:20:25.:20:30.

around nearby towns and villages on his bike recording what he saw. In

:20:30.:20:34.

1912 he researched his book, Villages of the White Horse, by

:20:34.:20:38.

cycling in the shadow of the ancient monument. 100 years later,

:20:38.:20:43.

I am getting on my bike to retrace some of his route and to find out

:20:43.:20:49.

why there is an Alfred Williams renaissance in Wiltshire. First I

:20:49.:20:54.

stop off at Rose Cottage where he grew wop. It belongs to a local man

:20:54.:21:00.

called Rupert who is proud of its heritage. We have tried to keep as

:21:00.:21:04.

many period features, or put its period features back for, because

:21:04.:21:10.

when we brought it, there were none in head. He is impressed by what

:21:10.:21:16.

Alfred achieved in his life. He had a hard, terrible, dreadful life.

:21:16.:21:23.

There was their health and safety, nothing. What happened at work if

:21:23.:21:29.

he lost a finger or lustre on, it was tough luck. He still found time

:21:29.:21:33.

to come home and write some amazing work. Across the road is his old

:21:33.:21:37.

school. Today, the children have been learning what their famous

:21:37.:21:41.

former people said about it. village school stands in a field

:21:41.:21:46.

near the road a short way down. There, the little children run off

:21:46.:21:51.

each morning to acquire the rudiments of learning. The school

:21:51.:21:54.

walls were adorned with pictures and we did not understand all of

:21:54.:21:58.

the subjects. They made a deep and lasting impression. We cannot force

:21:58.:22:02.

the children to look at things through the eyes of sage experience.

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This is the time of glorious irresponsibility and carelessness.

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The any distinction I do make is in the case so the very poorest of

:22:12.:22:19.

financial front. I think that I care for them most of all. I am

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visiting just a few of the many places that he talked about. On

:22:24.:22:30.

leaving South Marston, he headed to Wroughton and then on to Wanborough.

:22:30.:22:34.

He says that Wanborough is one of the most ancient settlements on

:22:34.:22:37.

this island and goes on to say about even before the Romans

:22:37.:22:43.

arrived in England, there were people living in Wanborough. It is

:22:43.:22:47.

here that one of his most enthusiastic fans lives. A local

:22:47.:22:53.

surgeon, John Collymore, he has written a musical called the Common

:22:53.:22:58.

man based on his life. It is being performed in Swindon later this

:22:58.:23:08.
:23:08.:23:09.

month. What is that most appeals to you about Alfred Williams?

:23:09.:23:13.

Complete Live story, really, and what he achieved. It is an

:23:13.:23:20.

inspiring tale and a fascinating life story. I suppose, one

:23:20.:23:24.

identified with him because he really started from nothing as a

:23:24.:23:29.

farm boy that went into a factory, but then had this amazing passion

:23:29.:23:34.

for self-education. Tell me about how he captures this part of the

:23:34.:23:40.

West? The way he has done it is, I think, but probably one of the

:23:40.:23:49.

first forms of travel writing that we have experience, because he

:23:49.:23:54.

travels around and get to know the people, places and Customs and

:23:54.:23:58.

knows the local history. He is a bit like a pre- cursor of Bill

:23:58.:24:03.

Bryson, really. His travel route pass through pretty villages

:24:03.:24:08.

including Hinton Parva Andante Bishopstone, known for its water

:24:08.:24:16.

gardens. I am taking a quick detour from Alfred's travel route to try

:24:16.:24:19.

and unusual drink that he writes about in villages of the White

:24:20.:24:29.
:24:30.:24:34.

Horse. Hello, Chris. Welcome. I'd pass either buys a cot. -- if I

:24:34.:24:39.

pass to the bicycle. I wonder if Alfred had these problems! Chris

:24:39.:24:43.

Parker is an enthusiast of Alfred Williams. One of the reasons I have

:24:43.:24:47.

come over here is because you're a beekeeper and you know about this

:24:47.:24:52.

extraordinary drink that Alfred Williams has mentioned, the name of

:24:52.:25:02.
:25:02.:25:09.

which I can barely say. Is it called Pittards? -- napthalgalum?

:25:10.:25:15.

It is an alcoholic drink made from honey. Yes, that is right. There

:25:15.:25:25.

was no time like the present. After a few drinks, he says he will

:25:25.:25:33.

be intoxicated, so let's have a go. It's not pretty good. -- it smells

:25:33.:25:41.

pretty good. It is a bit like alcoholics syrup. I am not sure I

:25:41.:25:51.

am ready to give up beer for this, but it is quite good. Leaving

:25:51.:25:55.

Bishopston, not over the limit, I might add, I am now heading to

:25:55.:26:02.

Kingston Lyle. There is an unusual relic that he named King Alfred

:26:02.:26:10.

Bugle. One of the things that he writes about in this book is the

:26:10.:26:13.

blowing Stone and if you can make a sound from it, it can be heard from

:26:13.:26:17.

the Uffington White Horse and would be king of England! Time for me to

:26:17.:26:27.
:26:27.:26:36.

That is horrible. A, dear, it is a commoners life for me! Never mind,

:26:36.:26:42.

on we go. A short but very steep right away, it is the ancient White

:26:42.:26:48.

Horse Hill, believed to be 3,000 years old. It was one of Alfred's

:26:48.:26:54.

famous places. This is it, the last leg of the journey, but for this

:26:54.:27:02.

bit, I am on foot. To end by a journey, members of the cast of

:27:02.:27:07.

hammer man have braved the cold to me to meet. Among them, Alfred

:27:07.:27:17.
:27:17.:27:18.

himself. Very nice to meet you. It is a bit cold here today. So, you

:27:18.:27:25.

play Alfred Williams, what is that like? It is a privilege. He is an

:27:25.:27:28.

inspiration to a lot of people and it is certainly correct to bring

:27:28.:27:32.

back the musical to this region and to talk about his life. What

:27:32.:27:38.

appears you about this here? suppose his search about truth in

:27:38.:27:43.

his life, he was an incredible writer and poet, and he always

:27:43.:27:48.

tried to put on paper what, from nature, he could glean has been

:27:48.:27:53.

part of life and his relationship with it. We're looking forward to

:27:53.:28:03.
:28:03.:28:33.

hearing the music got, so take it That is said for this programme and

:28:33.:28:37.

indeed for the series. We will be back in the autumn, in the meantime,

:28:38.:28:41.

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