§ 25. Mr. IllsleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to encourage local police forces to improve response times. [82327]
§ Mr. DenhamA key message of the National Policing Plan, published on 20 November, is the Government's determination to remove the barriers which prevent the police from providing the public with the best possible service.
The police are well aware of the importance of providing a rapid response to an emergency call. Also, public satisfaction on response times for emergency calls is one of the Best Value Performance Indicators for police authorities. Authorities set targets on the indicator and are required to publish their force's performance in annual Best Value performance plans.
§ 27. Mr. StunellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to(a) recruit part-time police officers and (b) allow full-time officers to change to part-time if they wish to (i) before and (ii) after they have completed 30 years' service. [82329]
§ Mr. DenhamAll new recruits may apply to work part-time, as may established police officers of all ranks, regardless of whether officers have completed 30 years' service or not. Managers must give full consideration to all requests to change to part-time working, taking into account operational needs.
As part of the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) Agreement of 9 May, part-time working will be made easier for officers in all ranks, regardless of whether they have completed 30 years service or not. We plan to remove the 16 hour a week minimum requirement for part-time working by 1 April 2003; together with the requirement for job sharing in respect of middle and senior ranks. The position of part-time probationers will be given further consideration in PNB.
§ 30. Mr. PickthallTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of Lancashire Constabulary's large-scale arrest of drug dealers. [82332]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthWe have been kept fully informed of the Lancashire constabulary's activity against drug dealers, most notably Operation Nimrod. This has so far resulted in over 100 people being arrested and dealt with by the courts. Seizures of class A drugs have risen considerably in comparison to last year. The constabulary has commissioned both an internal evaluation of Operation Nimrod as well as an external evaluation by Lancaster university on its impact within the community. These reports are due at the beginning of March.
§ 35. Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next expects to meet Chief Police Officers to discuss rural policing. [82337]
§ Mr. DenhamI meet regularly with Chief Police Officers and discuss a wide range of issues with them.
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§ Win Griffiths39. Mr. To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to enable police officers to spend more time on the beat during their working day. [82341]
§ Mr. DenhamWe are committed to tackling the administrative burdens and inefficient working practices that keep officers off the streets. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary established a taskforce, under the chairmanship of Sir David O'Dowd, to identify ways in which forces can free up the time of front line officers. The taskforce's report was published on 17 September this year and contained 52 recommendations to increase the presence of police in communities. We have now set up a steering group, co-chaired by the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Home Office, to take forward these recommendations.
Two recommendations of the taskforce have already been introduced in the Criminal Justice and Sentencing Bill to allow police officers to grant 'street bail':
Police officers will be provided with the option to offer an arrested person immediate bail at the scene rather than immediately having to take the person to a police station.The requirement to list all property taken into custody is to be removed so that the custody officer would secure all possessions in a scalable property bag and only make a few supporting comments.We are also consulting with the judiciary on a provision to be included in the Bill, which will allow officers to obtain search warrants by video, by telephone and by fax. We are reviewing each and every Code of Practice issued under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to cut unnecessary bureaucracy. A new code A is to commence in April 2003, and new codes B-E are likely to commence by May 2003.