§ Mr. David MartinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements exist for coordinating requests from chief officers of police for mutual aid assistance from other forces; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HurdMutual aid between police forces has for many years been a feature of British policing. Standing local arrangements for mutual aid are often used and do not require central co-ordination. When the demands on manpower or other resources are such that these arrangements are unlikely to be adequate, requests for assistance may be co-ordinated nationally by the mutual aid co-ordination centre (MACC) which was previously known as the national reporting centre.
The centre is activated and controlled by the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers and not by the Home Office. Day-to-day operations are the responsibility of an officer of deputy chief constable rank, assisted by supporting staff. When the MACC is in operation, as at all other times, the direction and control of police operations 559W within a force area, including the control of officers provided under mutual aid, is the responsibility of the chief officer of police for that area. The MACC is responsible for co-ordinating requests from chief officers: it does not have the power to take the initiative in moving police officers from one force area to another.
The Home Office is today issuing a circular to chief officers of police and police authorities about the mutual aid co-ordination centre. I have placed a copy in the Library.