§ Dr. FrancisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent guidance he has sent to police authorities on policing priorities. [82448]
§ Mr. DenhamOn 20 November I laid the National Policing Plan before Parliament as required by section 1 of the Police Reform Act 2002. As I explained in my letter to hon. Members that day, the plan sets out for the first time in one document, the priorities for the police service in England and Wales for the next three years428W together with the performance targets and indicators against which delivery will be measured. The strategic priorities for the police service in 2003–06 are as follows:
- Tackling antisocial behaviour and disorder
- Reducing volume, street, drug-related and violent and gun crime in line with local and national targets
- Combating serious and organised crime operating across force boundaries
- Increasing the number of offences brought to justice.
The plan contains a planning framework as a tool to aid implementation. I shall shortly be issuing guidance on local three-year strategies.