Policing

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Wednesday 24th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hanson]

Indeed, only one Liberal Democrat is present: the hon. Member for Burnley (Gordon Birtwistle). [Interruption.] Yes, one other Liberal Democrat is, in fact, present: the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Mike Crockart).

I make these points because I am worried about the turnout in these elections. I worry for the Minister in having this flagship policy of elections for PCCs on which the Government have done an abysmal job in generating interest and turnout and getting people engaged.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

On the question of turnout, does the right hon. Gentleman agree that the comments of Lord Blair of Boughton were deeply unhelpful and extremely negative, and that someone with his experience should have known better?

[Mr Hanson]

I say to the hon. Gentleman that I will be voting on 15 November, and I urge everybody else to vote, too, to ensure that these elections have as high a turnout as possible.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe). It was good to hear him end on a positive note as well.

If the official Opposition had had their way, this would have been a debate about my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell). Events have moved on, of course, but I would like to pay tribute to him for the work he did as Secretary of State for International Development. He was a truly outstanding and inspirational DFID Secretary. He spent five years in opposition preparing for that brief, and when he got the brief in government, he was a huge, huge success and admired throughout the world.

I want to focus briefly on Norfolk constabulary, and pay tribute to the police officers across the county. Although they are facing difficult times, they have turned themselves into an incredibly effective small police force, which is now probably better placed than most other forces in the country.

There has been a reduction in the number of officers. On 1 April 2010 there were 1,650 police officers and 275 police community support officers. On 1 April 2012, however, there were 1,530 police officers and 15 fewer PCSOs, and by 1 April 2015 the number of police officers will fall to 1,500. Although that obviously presents challenges, I want to underline the fact that there has been a quite superb improvement in the force’s performance.

Crime has fallen. In the last year—2010-11 to 2011-12 —burglary crime was down 20%, robbery was down 11.4% and vehicle theft crime was down 26%. Had serious sexual offences not gone up by 20%, overall crime would have come down by much more than 2.4%. In the year to date, 2011-12 to 2012-13, serious sexual offences have fallen 24%, theft of motor vehicles is down by a staggering 29%, robbery is down 31% and priority criminal damage is down 37%. We are therefore on target to reduce crime by almost 13%. That is an extraordinary performance.

The point that those things underscore is that it is possible to reduce the number of police officers in a time of great austerity, but they do not have to be taken out of the front line. It is not necessary to undermine in any way the integrity of the front line. Norfolk constabulary has reduced bureaucracy and the number of officers in back-up or admin jobs. It has got more officers on to the front line and it is reducing crime. I want to pay tribute to all the police officers who have contributed to this excellent record, and in particular Chief Constable Phil Gormley. He is leading a force that now has high morale, in spite of the changes that are taking place.

Another important part of our strategy is collaboration with Suffolk constabulary. The shadow Minister, the right hon. Member for Delyn (Mr Hanson), talked about the reforms during Charles Clarke’s tenure at the Home Office. They did not succeed because they were too large a step forward at that time. In Norfolk, there has been a steady, pragmatic, common-sense approach to collaboration. At regional level, there has been sensible collaboration through the eastern region special operations unit. A joint structure has been put in place with Suffolk for collaborative policing, covering protective services, justice services and business support. The total cost is now £44.5 million. To put that in context, the total amount spent by Norfolk constabulary is £120 million and Suffolk spent £92 million. Some 502 officers are now working on this collaborative project, and there are 48 civilian staff.

In protective services, there are now six major units covering serious and organised crime, forensic investigation and intelligence, as well as the major investigation team, specialist operations and the vulnerable people directorate. In justice services, Norfolk and Suffolk now have a fully collaborative unit comprising criminal justice services, custody services and a new custody investigation unit. There is also a joint Norfolk and Suffolk criminal justice board. In business support, £9.8 million has been saved across the forces. There are now joint departments covering estates, ICT, procurement and human resources.

Are the public pleased with the performance of Norfolk constabulary? Norfolk constabulary has the 17th lowest budget in the country, yet it has the fifth highest detection rate, the second highest overall value-for-money rating and is third in the country in terms of public satisfaction.

I support the changes and the election of police and crime commissioners. I wish the new PCC all the best. He or she will take over a force that is in excellent heart.