PETER HITCHENS: Let's build a new police force that actually does the job we want it to do

This is Peter Hitchens��� Mail on Sunday column

This country is in many ways like a great and ancient oak tree, which appears majestic from outside but which is hollow and crumbling within. 

There are many examples of this, from the Armed Forces and the great universities to the political parties, the Church of England and the courts of law. But perhaps the most striking instance of decay is the police force, as it is now not supposed to be called.

It is actually the case that it was once un...