Policing Pledge for Southampton
4th March 2009
Alan Whitehead is supporting a new public information campaign launched today to raise awareness of the level of service people should expect from the police.
The Policing Pledge, which was rolled out nationally in December 2008, gives local people an unprecedented say over how their communities are policed and the opportunity to hold the police to account – to ensure they are getting the service they want. It also means people can be confident that the police are delivering the same set of national service standards throughout the country while still delivering action on their local priorities.
The Pledge is part of the Policing Green Paper, published last summer, which signalled a shift in police accountability and reporting. The focus is now on police reporting and responding to local communities rather than central government as well as on individual police officers having the responsibility and the discretion to tackle the issues that matter locally.
Alan Whitehead said:
“I know how important it is for people to feel able to access the police when they need them. This pledge is an important part of how we can allow people in Southampton to know what they can expect from the local police force.
“Neighbourhood policing schemes and the pioneering 101 service are already making a real difference to policing in Southampton, and this pledge will make connections between police and our local communities even stronger.
“Labour’s work to strengthen policing in Southampton is regrettably in contrast to the current Conservative policy to cut £160 million from the Home Office budget, which could translate into 98 less police officers on the beat in our constabulary.”
Home Secterary Jacqui Smith MP said:
“I am determined to give people a louder voice in how crime is tackled in their communities so we can continue to drive down crime and drive up public confidence.
“The public are our strongest weapon in tackling crime and the Policing Pledge is a clear deal about what you can expect from the police. I passionately believe that building confidence by giving you more local crime information, listening to your concerns and making your priorities our priorities we will drive up the quality of policing for communities everywhere.
“I want people to be empowered and take advantage of the new deal policing pledge and that is why this new campaign is crucial in ensuring that you know the minimum standard of service you should receive and that you have a greater say and influence over how your streets are policed.”
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More information
1. For more information visit http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk
2. The adverts promote the www.direct.gov.uk/policingpledge site as a key way for people to access information about policing including the details of their local policing team, a copy of the pledge itself and local crime information. There is also a new number for people to text to get the phone number for their local neighbourhood policing team and their police force non-emergency number. Text ‘PLEDGE’ followed by your POSTCODE to 66101 in order to get details of your local team.
3. This new Policing Pledge is a set of promises to local residents that not only gives more information about local policing, but also ensures that communities across the country will have a stronger voice in telling the police what they think is most important and what they are most worried about.
4. All forces across the country have now signed up to deliver the Pledge. This means that it will be easier for you to have your say on how they police your local area, and guarantees that wherever you live, you can expect the same, high level of service. But it’s more than just having a say about how your local community is policed. The Policing Pledge makes a number of promises on how it will deal with you, your problem and the kind of service you can expect.
| You are entitled to: A clear set of commitments from the police about their service A local Pledge about how your neighbourhood will be policed Contact details for your neighbourhood policing team Monthly public meetings with your local police team to agree what matters most Access to information on local crimes including crime maps and feedback on what action has been taken in your area by visiting www.direct.gov.uk/policingpledge or searching for Policing Pledge online |
5. On Monday 5 January, David Cameron announced that he intends to restrict the Home Office’s budget to a 1 per cent real terms increase for 2009/10, which would require a cut of £160 million in just three months’ time.
“…maintaining the government's spending plans for the NHS, schools, defence and International development, but restricting other departments to a 1 per cent increase in real terms.”
(David Cameron, speech on spending plans, January 5 2009)
6. The proportion of the Tory cuts to police numbers that would affect South East region is derived from the latest publicly available figures on the relative strength of police forces - the Home Office Statistical Bulletin on Police Service Strength, published 22 July 2008.
This set out that South East region made up 11.8 % of the total number of police officers in England and Wales, as at 31 March 2008.
7. The last published data (Home Office Statistical Bulletin on Police Service Strength, http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb0808.pdf) sets out that as at 31 March 2008 there were 141859 full-time equivalent police officers serving in the 43 forces in England & Wales. Based on the relative strength of police forces in these figures, the effect of the £160m cut proposed by the Conservatives for 2009/10 would be the equivalent of reductions in officer numbers for each police force as follows, with slight variation in numbers due to rounding:
North East
Cleveland – 42 officers
Durham – 41
Northumbria – 99
North West
Cheshire – 55
Cumbria - 31
Gtr Manchester - 201
Lancashire - 92
Merseyside - 112
Yorks & Humber
Humberside - 56
N Yorks - 39
S Yorks - 80
W Yorks - 146
East Midlands
Derbyshire – 53
Leicestershire – 56
Lincolnshire - 30
Northamptonshire - 33
Nottinghamshire - 59
West Midlands
Staffordshire - 57
Warwickshire - 26
West Mercia - 62
West Midlands - 211
Eastern
Bedfordshire - 30
Cambridgeshire - 34
Essex - 85
Hertfordshire - 54
Norfolk - 39
Suffolk - 33
London
City of London - 21
Met - 789
South East
Hampshire - 98
Kent - 93
Surrey - 49
Sussex - 77
Thames Valley - 105
South West
Avon and Somerset - 85
Devon and Cornwall - 89
Dorset - 38
Gloucestershire - 34
Wiltshire - 30
Wales
Dyfed Powys - 30
Gwent - 37
N Wales - 39
S Wales – 81