§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many plain-clothes officers are deployed by police forces in England and Wales. [155048]
§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision is made for police drivers to receive(a) initial and (b) refresher training; and if he will make a statement. [155056]
§ Ms BlearsPolice driver training is a matter for individual forces.
A national driver training package was produced in 2000 which was endorsed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and recommended to forces. It consists of three core courses:
Basic—assessment to ensure driving competence;Standard—training which may include emergency response driving; andAdvanced—further training to perform roles which require a high level of driving skill.It is recommended that periodic formal assessments should take place every three to five years, accompanied by refresher training, if required.
§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department has published on(a) the vision levels that police drivers need to achieve and (b) how frequently they should receive eye checks. [155058]
§ Ms BlearsThe Home Office has not issued guidance on eyesight standards specific to drivers in the Police Service.
The Association of Police Officers Joint Working Group on Health, Safety and Welfare Medical Sub Group produced guidance on visual driving standards in 1994. This was set as a minimum visual acuity of 6/18.
The guidance also states that advanced drivers should undertake a medical assessment, including eyesight test, every three years until aged 45 and then annually.
§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what standards of driving test police drivers are required to meet; and what the failure rate was in each year since 1997. [155059]
§ Ms BlearsPolice driving standards, ranging from basic to pursuit, are published on the Association of Chief Police Officers website: www.acpo.police.uk/policies/index.html
There is no central collection of data on failure rates.
§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines are published by his Department on the disciplinary code for police drivers. [155060]
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§ Ms BlearsThe Code of Conduct set out in the Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999 sets out the principles which guide police officers' conduct and applies to officers working in all areas and of all ranks.
There is no specific code or principle that relates to police drivers. The Association of Chief Police Officers issues Police Driving Guidelines, which all police forces follow.
§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what disciplinary measures are taken against police drivers who are involved in road accidents. [155061]
§ Ms BlearsDiscipline measures are taken against those police officers who are found to have breached the Code of Conduct.
Police drivers who are involved in road traffic accidents are not automatically assumed to have breached the Code of Conduct. However, if an allegation or report of a breach is made a disciplinary investigation will be undertaken and this can result in a hearing. If the case is proved against the officer the disciplinary hearing will determine the appropriate sanction, which, if serious can be dismissal from the force.
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what Government criteria there are for(a) siting of police cells, (b) the number of police cells and (c) conditions of police cells. [153771]
§ Ms BlearsThe number and siting of police cells is a local operational matter for the Chief Constable and the Police Authority.
The conditions of police cells are subject to National and European legislation such as the Health `nd Safety Act, the Disability Discrimination Act and the Human Rights Act.
The Home Office has issued the Police Design Buildings guidance and intends producing a Design Quality Guide. Police Authorities and forces are also advised on building projects by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).
§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the displacement of crime from areas subject to intensive policing initiatives to neighbouring areas. [155874]
§ Ms BlearsResearch in London has found very little evidence of geographic or functional displacement as a consequence of the Street Crime Initiative (SCI). While there was some evidence of local shifts within the boroughs, this was not considered significant.
Under the Crime Reduction Programme there were a number of evaluations which included some estimation of whether activity had led either to a displacement of crime, or conversely to what is termed a diffusion of 458W benefits (reductions in crime across a larger area, or across a wider range of crime types, than were being targeted).
For instance a report detailing the impact of 63 evaluated Reducing Burglary Initiative (RBI) projects is soon to be published, and this report will include estimates of displacement and diffusion of benefits. Under the RBI, a methodological report was also produced by one of the evaluation teams that examined the complex issue of how one measures crime displacement, and proposed a new statistical technique for doing so.
However, it has lo be acknowledged that there remains no agreed methodology for assessing whether policing initiatives result in a displacement of crime or a diffusion of benefits. Nevertheless, past research evidence from outside the Home Office indicates that displacement of crime resulting from police or related crime reduction activities is by no means inevitable, and indeed crime reduction gains usually outweigh any possible displacement of crime.