§ 16. Mr. Simon Hughes (Southwark, North and Bermondsey)What is the Government's policy on the subject of the future deployment of police officers on the beat. [40278]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Mike O'Brien)The Government will continue to do all that they can to relieve the police of unnecessary bureaucratic burdens and to encourage chief constables to put more officers back on the beat. However, the deployment of officers on the beat or to other duties remains a matter for chief constables.
§ Mr. HughesIs not the fact that, in the past year, there was a reduction of 600 police officers on the beat in the capital the best evidence that the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis was correct when he said, about 10 days ago, that there was no possibility of any significant increase in the number of police officers on the beat under current arrangements? Do the Government have a policy of putting more police officers on the beat throughout the country, and do they accept that, unless they increase the money available to police forces, the number of officers on the beat will continue to fall, contrary to the public wish?
§ Mr. O'BrienCrime in the metropolitan area has fallen by 6.1 per cent., and that is a tribute to the Metropolitan police. The Met has more officers per person than any other area. Total revenue for the Metropolitan police rose by 3.7 per cent.—or by £70 million—to £1.7 billion in 1998–99. That is a healthy rise at a time of restraints on public spending, and includes an extra £151 million in recognition of the Met's distinct national and capital city functions. We need to ensure that there are enough officers on the beat to fight crime. That is our objective, 16 but it is not a totem in itself. We must ensure that the officers are there for a purpose, and that purpose is to fight and reduce crime.
§ Fiona Mactaggart (Slough)Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating my local police force in Slough, which, through good management and the introduction of sectoral policing, has been able to increase the number of police officers on the beat? Will my hon. Friend play his part in making that more possible by reducing bureaucratic demands on the police force so that more police officers can get out and do their job on the streets?
§ Mr. O'BrienI agree entirely with my hon. Friend that we need to ensure that we free up officers for front-line duties. For example, joint performance management schemes between the police and the Crown Prosecution Service have improved the preparation of case files and helped to reduce the number of forms. We hope that further opportunities will arise to reduce the administrative burdens on the police so that we can get more police officers where they belong, which is out on the beat.
§ Mr. Damian Green (Ashford)The Minister is keen to have more police officers on the beat, but, when it comes to specifics, he tries to hide behind the chief constables. Will the Minister give the House a target for the number of extra police that the Government wish to see on the beat by the end of this Parliament?
§ Mr. O'BrienPerhaps the hon. Gentleman should abide by the commitments of the Conservative party. We have honoured all the spending commitments of the previous Government and are seeking to use those resources more effectively. The Conservatives are always wind and fury on policing. However, when it comes to police numbers, the previous Conservative Home Secretary promised to create 2,000 extra officers. In the last year of the Conservative Government, he delivered 295 fewer officers. Overall, between 1992 and 1997, net police numbers fell under the Conservatives by 765. The Met lost 1,961 officers. That is what the Conservatives did for policing.