HC Deb 08 February 1984 vol 53 cc594-5W
Mr. Wheeler

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the recommendations contained in the report of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on his proposed plans and priorities for the coming year; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Brittan

I am placing a summary of the commissioner's recent report to me, as police authority for the metropolis, in the Library of the House, and I have sent a copy to every right hon. and hon. Member for a constituency in the Metropoliton police district. I hope to meet Members soon to discuss the commissioner's proposals and that it will be possible to find time to give the House an opportunity for a debate before Easter.

As Home Secretary, I attach particular importance to the prevention and detection of crime. To this end I have given, and shall continue to give, every encouragement to the police to improve their methods, to make the very best use of their resources and to harness the co-operation of the public in reducing crime. With my responsibilities for the police service as a whole it is my continuing concern to encourage the interchange of ideas and the spread of best practice, and to facilitate the maximum co-operation between forces.

The commissioner and his officers are to be congratulated on the progress made by the Metropolitan police in the last year. An intensive programme of planning, involving officers at all levels, has resulted in a more purposeful use of manpower and other resources. Over 750 uniformed constables have been added to divisional strengths and almost 200 sergeants redeployed through the reduction of central departments, the rationalisation of crime squads, civilianisation and by other means. There has been a reduction of 27 per cent. in demands for manpower from other districts for events in central London. At the same time, the introduction of area intelligence and surveillance units has sharpened and focussed efforts to improve performance against street robbery and burglary. I am encouraged to see a reduction of 4 per cent. in 1983 in the number of notifiable offences recorded by the force; and an increase in clear-up rates for several groups of offences, including burglarly — up from 8 per cent. to 9 per cent.—and robbery and other violent theft—up from 10 per cent. to 13 per cent.—and sexual offences—up from 44 per cent. to 51 per cent. Arrests for offences of robbery and other violent theft are up by 14 per cent. and for sexual offences by 21 per cent. I am also glad that progress has been made in establishing a secure framework for public co-operation: consultative groups, crime prevention panels, and victim support schemes have been formed and neighbourhood watch and property marking introduced on a large scale.

I have studied the commissioner's report carefully and have discussed with him his future programme of work to build on the essential foundations for a better service to the public which have been laid. He intends to — maximise performance through the most effective use of manpower; — minimise criminal opportunity through crime prevention, public contact, involvement and co-operation; — enhance the detection of specified criminal offences—robbery, burglarly and autocrime—through analytical techniques, co-ordination and integration of effort, improvements in criminal intelligence, targeting and surveillance; — imporve management and organisation to support his force strategy and to enhance the quality of service to the public.

I have told the commissioner that his proposals for the coming year are fully in accord with my strategy for fighting crime, and that I look forward to a full evalution of the measures which he is taking as soon as possible. As police authority I have emphasised to the commissioner my concern to see improvements in firearms training in the force, greater efforts to combat offences involving hard drugs and better relations at all levels with the ethnic minority communities. He has assured me of the importance which he, too, attaches to making progress in all these areas and I welcome the measures which he is taking to this end.

I have also considered with the commissioner his manpower needs. I have told him that the Metropolitan police will be allowed an additional 200 police officers in 1984–85 bringing the police establishment to 27,115. The commissioner accepts that there is still scope for the greater use of civilians to release police officers from adminstrative work. I have indicated to the commissioner that civilianisation should continue to have a high priority and am therefore raising the civilian staff ceiling from 13,456 to 13,750. In authorising these increases I have stressed to the commissioner the importance I attach to securing value for money in the use of all resources and to close consultation on the full resource implications of new proposals. I therefore welcome his continuing emphasis in his report to me on the need for the force to ensure that resources are used in the most effective way.