HC Deb 23 January 1986 vol 90 cc251-2W
19. Mr. Meadowcroft

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has further to develop community policing.

Mr. Giles Shaw

Although it is a matter for the judgment of chief officers how they deploy the officers and resources at their disposal, my right hon. Friend has made clear his support for the concept of community policing, which means essentially that police officers should know and understand the people whom they protect and serve. To carry out this task successfully the police need, and are entitled to expect, the support and co-operation of the citizen.

72. Mr. Lawler

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of police community forums.

Mr. Giles Shaw

Section 106 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which came into force on 1 January 1985, requires all police authorities (and the Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis and of the City of London) to make arrangements for obtaining the views of local people on matters concerning the policing of their area. Although not required to establish consultative committees, the Home Office guidance encourages them to do so. In almost all police areas the arrangements made include the establishment of consultative committees in at least part of the area. These committees are in various stages of development and Her Majesty's inspectors of constabulary continue to keep us informed of progress.

Properly representative consultative committees have a vital role to play in ensuring that the police and local people are able regularly to exchange views and information on the policing of the area. Such exchanges help to encourage positive relations between the police and the public locally and may lead to practical forms of cooperation, particularly in crime prevention. Consultative committees are not to be confused with the police committees established by a number of Labour-controlled London boroughs and some districts outside London, which are aimed, not at improving relations between the police and the public, but at securing political control over the police.