Thurso Toilets!

[The Horseman]

I continually read about Damage being done to Toilets in Caithness and of course particularly Thurso. It seems they are re-furbished and then Damaged again!
Last time I was in Wick the Toilets were closed due to Vandalism……
Some time ago I think it was Willie Mackay standing outside The Wick one, with a story of said Vandalism…but what was done?

Now the Police..Sir Robert Peel Circa 1829, formed Principals, one of which was….
****The Primary object of an Efficient Police Force is the Prevention of Crime, the next that of the Detention and Punishment of Offenders when Crime is committed!
This ‘simple statement’ exemplifies (a typical example), of UK Laws and for that matter Laws around The World.
In New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the 90’s brought in enforcement against ‘petty crimes’ like damage, and halved all the Crime there.
Where are The Police?
You have a Retired Cop on Council….What gives here!
Perhaps Mr Fernie would like to comment? I think he was ‘on Council’ at one time, and was also in charge of some other issues.

Comments please!

[Bill Fernie]

The toilets in Wick are undergoing a major rebuild including a new roof.

In the meantime a comfort scheme is run by the nearby Norseman Hotel.

As with many council services they have been under a lot of stress due to inadequate budgets from government.

One of the ways councils have tried to get round this is to offer toilets to be run by others.

In Caithness these schemes are -

• Cafe Groats
• Forsinard Flows
• Lybster Public Toilets
• The Norseman Hotel
• Thurso Harbour

More information about the schemes can be found at https://www.highland.gov.uk/info/283...blic_toilets/2

Police numbers have been reducing -
there were 16,615 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in Scotland on 31 March 2023. police officer numbers decreased by 30 FTE officers (-0.2%) in the last quarter from 31 December 2022. police officer numbers decreased by 190 FTE officers (-5.0%) in the last year from 31 March 2022. 2 May 2023

Undoubtedly budgets have been under pressure with never enough in recent years to cover all the costs Inevitably councillor no matter what party of independent hare faced with making hard decisions. Hence cutting the number of toilets or struggling to cope with the increased cost of putting tar on roads and filling pot holes. This set against pressures on schools and social work mean that perhaps toilets are one line of decisions that can be made

Don't forget we had several years of frozen council tax that and even with the extra payments from Scottish government it did not cover the deficit each year meaning more and more reduction to services were needed.

What can be done - well councils are introducing more parking charges, charges to empty garden bins, increase burial charges etc. In fact in the last few years l councils have looked at where they are allowed to charge more to get income to cover services. It was never enough to get back to where we used to be a couple of decades ago. Managements levels have been trimmed and staffing reduced across the council in the past few year. After a decade of cost cutting there are few places left to go to meaning cuts are more likely. Whether you believe it or not many efficiencies have been introduced in recent years.

A major saving for Highland council was the creation of Highlife Highland a charity to run many services such as swimming pools and libraries and much more. But even that service has come under strain with increasing running costs.
.
Recently the Highland council have agreed to the use of reserves (This can only be done once). Audit Scotland has made statements about the level of reserves held by councils with worries that many councils are running out of reservices that are safety nets for any big problems or disasters

There is much more to the details of council budgets. However they are central to the issues such as public toilets.

I left the council in 2017.

[The Horseman]

Thank you for these Stats…

Canada has…..180 Police Officers per 100,000 population. And is 127 times larger than Scotland.
Scotland has….318 Police Officers per 100,000 population. Nearly double the number.
It would appear that Police Scotland have also got Special Constables doing some of the Leg Work.
In Canada we also have the above Specials, but they do not do normal Police Work as they are not armed.
Canadian Police on patrol carry a Short Barrelled Shotgun with shells of course, and a 40 Calibre Hand Gun loaded with 15 shells and two magazines of a similar size.
I keep reading about the Damage….And we would not put up with the Damage being done in Scotland.
The UK including Scotland have thousands of CCTV’s, when we have very few.
Since leaving Caithness at 20, I would come back every few years up to 55 years later, and see the wanton damage that is done. Every I have visited there has been damage or some type of Anti-Social behaviour. i do remember at Lybster Harbour, vandals would break new seating benches above the harbour. They kept replacing them, but eventually the 2 seats were thrown in the Harbour…..all in a period if 3 weeks.

Talking of money, I see Matthew Reiss, ex Cop., is wanting money for Old Buildings at Achastle and Forse/ a few miles apart. Practically every small community has a harbour! Can we/you afford to fix all the Old Harbours in Caithness. A common sense approach would be to choose a few particular sites and repair these, not every one in Caithness.
I know you said in other posts on here that ‘certain monies’ are earmarked for specific issue, and that is the way it is!
But it’s the Public Taxpayer that foots the bill in the end. Could some of that money for every old building be used for the Terrible state of the roads?!
I dunno……One thing that comes to mind goes back to Sir Robert Peel….
THE POLICE ARE THE PUBLIC AND THE PUBLIC ARE THE POLICE…. Meaning that the responsibility of keeping order also belongs to the Public at large….not just the POLIS!
*****The Public think that Police have extraordinary Powers! The General Public has nearly as many Powers as the Police do.

Approx 8 years in the evening I was at Lybster Harbour with a couple of people. A large Van with the name ‘imprinted’ on the side parked in the Beach area. They opened the doors and threw piles old windows and doors onto the beach.
It was ignored…I asked if someone would report it…shoulders were shrugged…..Ignored. C’est la vie.

[The Horseman]

Note…..

1300+ views and not one comment.
Anyone agree….Anyone disagree….
Isn’t this something you take up with your ‘Community Council’?

On my first comment I mentioned Mayor Rudi Giuliani of New York City.
It is true…..stop the ‘damage’ and all other Crime is reduced. One of the reasons is that the Public sees that Enforcement is being done, and they hesitate as they know that they will be punished for something more serious.
Giuliani is now involved with Ex President Trump, and much if what you read is Anti Trump and from CNN, which is affiliated to the Democrats….The other side!

Food for thought!

[Gronnuck]

If all you have to worry about is Toilets on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean from you, you’re a lucky man indeed. Please be assured we’re managing fine over here without you.

[The Horseman]

Thank you for your kind words.
Suffice to say, each time I get back to Caithness it’s The Same Olde etc.
I have travelled a wee bitty, so perhaps you should also travel and see how the rest of the World operates….
A restaurant in Wick….in the Bathroom/Washroom or whatever you wish to call it, I went to dry my hands and on the back of the door was a ‘Dirty Cloot’! Yessir! Anywhere else the door and the Business would be locked by The Authorities!
And the last 3/4 times I was in Wick the Toilets were closed…..wrecked as usual…Normal? In your World.

Anyway these pages have been read by quite a few people…so ‘it’s food for thought’. Perhaps someone will take action, or change behaviours.
Thanks for comment. ‘Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions’!

[The Horseman]

The recent cuts in Scottish Policing…Beyond the pale!
The statistics seem to disagree with that. As you can see from the recent stats….Scotland has nearly Double the Police personnel that Canada has.

Canada has…..180 Police Officers per 100,000 population. And is 127 times larger than Scotland.
Scotland has….318 Police Officers per 100,000 population. Nearly double the number.
It would appear that Police Scotland have also got Special Constables doing some of the Leg Work.
In Canada we also have the above Specials, but they do not do normal Police Work as they are not armed.
The UK including Scotland have thousands of CCTV’s, when we have very few.
From Stats that I can gather…from Police Scotland…..they appear to be ‘Top Heavy’!

Canada……
1 Sgt for 8 Constables.
1 Staff/Station Sgt for 3 Sgts which would mean 24 Police personnel.
1 Inspector for 4 Staff/Station Sgts meaning…approx 100 Csts.

Anyone comment!

[The Horseman]

I see Road Traffic Deaths are on the increase across Scotland.
What is needed is more Enforcement by Police, who need to have a Blitz every so often.
******And of course you don’t have the Police…..yes you do.
One of the Highest in the civilized World….318 per 100,000 population!

Remember it is not the Gun that is responsible for the shot fired, it is the person holding it and pulling the Trigger.
Thus it is the Driver of the Vehicle who is responsible!

A man wants a ‘Holistic’ approach, and studies done…Simply..Get the Police out there with ‘Spot Checks across the North. It works elsewhere and will work in Caithness etal.