Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Home Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Selous Excerpts
Monday 19th March 2012

(12 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Baroness May of Maidenhead Portrait Mrs May
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I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising an important point about the policing of the riots last summer. Following the riots, I brought together representatives of the Metropolitan police, the Association of Chief Police Officers, BlackBerry, Twitter and Facebook to look at the use of social media and social networks during the riots. Further discussions are taking place between ACPO, the individual forces and those organisations to ensure that the police are in a better position to deal with the wealth of information that becomes available on those social networks.

Andrew Selous Portrait Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)
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Is the Home Secretary aware that there has been a reduction in reported crime in Bedfordshire, in spite of the budget cuts forced on it by the financial mess left by the last Government, and that there has also been no reduction at all in the number of front-line responders?

Baroness May of Maidenhead Portrait Mrs May
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point about Bedfordshire police. I commend them for the work they are doing. He has highlighted that it is possible to make savings in police budgets while ensuring that the front-line service is maintained and, in some cases, improved.