Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 24th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Immigration (Damian Green)]

I am delighted to hear that the effective controls that we are reinforcing at the border are having a beneficial effect in my hon. Friend’s constituency. She asked about further measures. I am happy to tell her that only a couple of months ago, at the Anglo-French summit, I signed a new treaty with my French counterpart which commits both countries to increasing the strength of our existing controls in Calais and extending them to other parts of the French coast. That means that we will be equally tough on any activity that is displaced from Calais to other parts of France. We are ensuring that our borders are much better controlled than they were in the past.

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

T8. Is the Government’s position that the number of police officers and community support officers in this country has no impact on crime levels?

[Mrs May]

Both the Policing Minister and I have responded to that point on a number of occasions. We have made it absolutely clear that there is no simple link between the number of officers and the level of crime. There are instances throughout the world in which police forces have increased their numbers and crime has risen, and other instances in which police numbers have fallen and crime has fallen.