Equipping the Police to Fight 21st Century Crime

Speech by Andrew Simpson delivered to Liberal Democrat Conference - Bournemouth 2004 on Wed 22nd Sep 2004

Colleagues I welcome this motion and in particular lines 14-16 in their commitment to community policing and line 22 in providing a 'minimum policing guarantee'

However I think you should be aware of how Labour's drive to meet targets on crime before the general election is now actually undermining progress towards community policing.

In my constituency in Northampton we have had community beat officers' servicing each council ward for some years now.

On the main this is working well particularly where an officer remains in place for sometime and so is able to build up links with the local community.

There are some problems as we know, and is recognised in this motion, with paperwork tying officers down and meaning they have less time on the ward beat. And also with in some cases 1 officer serving around 7,000 residents and still getting called away to other areas. But in the main this is a step in a right direction for community policing.

However last year overall crime in Northampton rose by 11%, behind this figure was residential burglary up by 24% and theft from motor vehicles up by 33%.

So the police authority had their knuckles rapped by the Government. The same Government who then decided to underfund them by £2.2 million. How does that hep solve the problem ?

It defies logic that the police authority were then in a position of having to meet tougher targets with less funding.

Clearly Labour are now at the point of panic when it comes to the crime figures and getting them down before the election.

This has forced Northamptonshire Police Authority to produce a new Policing Plan fro Northampton.

It actually seems every year we have a 'new' plan and a 'new' strategy.

What this plan is about is to put Community Beat Officers into teams called Community action Teams that work over much larger areas. Only wards that are ranked as having the need for 'priority policing' needs are getting the time of a dedicated officer.

This has caused concern from local residents and CBO's themselves. As illustrated by this e-mail message I got from one CBO…

"Andrew, I don't know really what to expect post 4th October as far as my role is concerned. What I do know is that I shall be spending approx 20% of my time working on issues relating to the ward and the remaining 80% working as part of a team of officers deployed anywhere on the new North/East sector where demand dictates."

Just now 20% spend on the ward is a major step backwards for community policing - this is about meeting short-term targets.

What do we mean by community policing ?

I had a good example recently in one part of the constituency where there became a problem with prostitution. The area was one with sheltered accommodation and flats for the elderly.

The police acted swiftly to deal with the problem but it wasn't that that impressed me. It was the comments from residents grateful that the Community Beat Officer had visited them individually and let them know what was happening.

This is an example of good community policing that not only deals with the crime but helps reduce the fear of crime and builds trust in the Police. This is not driven by short term targets but by a caring and dedicated approach to the residents and the area.

This is where we Lib Dems have got it right in this motion - looking to the longs term. The need to:

're-invigorate community policing'

'and get a new Local Policing Contract that provides a minimum policing guarantee'

For me that 'minimum policing guarantee' must be to ensure Community Beat Officers are truly committed 100% of their time to their beat areas.

Labour's drive in Northampton to bring down the crime figures is undermining long-term community policing. Labour has no strategy or vision for the future - if anything theirs is a 20th Century approach to target setting.

Only we Lib Dems are setting out a commitment to Community Policing that will meet the needs and reduce crime in the 21st Century.

Please support the motion.