HC Deb 01 May 1980 vol 983 cc1605-7
10. Mr. Lawrence

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take to ensure that there will not be any " no-go " areas in British urban centres.

Mr. Raison

As my right hon. Friend made clear in his statement to the House on Monday on the recent disturbances at Bristol, however quickly or fiercely public disorder may occur, we must ensure that the police are able swiftly to restore the peace and enforce the law. Such speed of response is a central issue for the re- view of arrangements for handling spontaneous disorder which the Department is undertaking with chief officers of police.

Mr. Lawrence

Is my hon. Friend aware that few people will not wholeheartedly support what the Home Secretary said about his determination that there should not be any no-go areas in Britain? Is the Minister aware that it will be possible to give effect to those fine words only if either enough police officers are recruited into potentially inflammable areas, or if enough police officers are recruited to special groups to be used in particularly inflammable areas? Is my hon. Friend satisfied with the level of police recruitment and the capacity of the police force to deal with conflagrations if, by chance, they should take place in future?

Mr. Raison

I am grateful for my hon. Friend's comments on what my right hon. Friend said on Monday. There has been a great improvement in recruitment in recent months since the present Government came to power. On the more specific question of how to handle disorder, that is exactly what the conference, which the Home Office is setting up in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers, intends to examine.

Mr. Alexander W. Lyon

As the police were walking about the place peacefully shortly after the disturbances may we get away from the obsession about no-go areas and ask ourselves why there was so much hostility to the police in the first place when the outbreak took place? Is it not time that we began to consider community policing on a national scale rather than reactive policing, which was the cause of the riot?

Mr. Raison

The conference to consider police operations might examine such questions. The Bristol incidents have been analysed fully. A full summary of the chief constable's report is available in the Library. Inquiries will be made by the Select Committee of which the hon. Gentleman is a member. It is well known that local authorities are examining the situation.

Mr. Wilkinson

Since many areas of our big cities are populated by Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, does my hon. Friend agree that it would be to the advantage of effective policing if there were more police from those communities, who speak the language and understand more fully what is going on?

Mr. Raison

We hope to have more members of the ethnic minority communities in the police force.