Baroness Howarth of Breckland
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(9 years, 9 months ago)
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Lord Bates
That is a very important point which ought to be considered. Certainly I shall mention it to the Home Secretary when I have her ear this afternoon.
Baroness Howarth of Breckland (CB)
My Lords, the All-Parliamentary Group for Children looked at the relationship between children and police in its last session and produced a report. In that report the police told us time and time again that they were finding it increasingly difficult to send police officers into schools. If we take a long view of the reduction of crime, we know that the education of children and the influence of police on children who are already starting down a path of crime are very great. Does the Minister not agree that it is crucial that these projects are protected?
Lord Bates
The noble Baroness is right. This relates to the earlier question about the importance of neighbourhood policing, where the connection with schools is vital to ensure that people grow up respecting the role of the police—not fearing them but realising that they are there to protect them.