§ 21. Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary about extending police powers and increasing recruitment of police officers in Wales. [142022]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyI meet the Home Secretary regularly to discuss a range of issues.
The Criminal Justice and Police Bill, announced recently in the Queen's speech, will improve and modernise police powers and procedures. For example, the Bill will help police to combat disorder through the introduction of fixed penalty notices, it will give legal support to police removing material from premises for searching and it will give powers of arrest to police in cases of kerb-crawling and hit-and-run driving.
The Home Secretary has announced that Welsh police forces will receive funding for an additional 286 police officers to be recruited in 2000–01 and 2001–02. Funding for additional recruitment will also be provided in 2002–03. In addition to payments direct to forces, National Police Training will receive funding to train new recruits to provincial forces.