Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of the promised 20000 new police officers committed to by the Government will be deployed in Harlow.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Beating Crime Plan sets out the government’s commitment to driving down crime, protecting the public and increasing public confidence in the criminal justice system. This includes the recruitment of 20,000 additional officers through the Police Uplift Programme. We are working with policing partners to deliver this plan. It is for Chief Constables and elected Police and Crime Commissioners to target their resources (including the deployment of additional officers) to tackle local priorities.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of officers recruited as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme on a quarterly basis. The latest data, covering the situation to 30 June 2022, are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-officer-uplift-statistics. These data are published at Police Force Area level in the supplementary tables accompanying the bulletin.
Essex police has been allocated a total of 449 additional officers for the three year uplift programme. As at 30 June 2022, Essex police has recruited 345 additional officers.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). These data are collected by Police Force Area only. Data on the number of police officers in Essex Police, on both a full-time equivalent (FTE) and a headcount basis are available in the Open Data Tables that accompany the release:
The deployment of officers across a police force area is a decision for operationally independent Chief Constables.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she will take to (a) increase policing and (b) reduce crime in Harlow.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Beating Crime Plan sets out the government’s commitment to driving down crime, protecting the public and increasing public confidence in the criminal justice system. This includes the recruitment of 20,000 additional officers through the Police Uplift Programme. We are working with policing partners to deliver this plan. It is for Chief Constables and elected Police and Crime Commissioners to target their resources (including the deployment of additional officers) to tackle local priorities.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of officers recruited as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme on a quarterly basis. The latest data, covering the situation to 30 June 2022, are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-officer-uplift-statistics. These data are published at Police Force Area level in the supplementary tables accompanying the bulletin.
Essex police has been allocated a total of 449 additional officers for the three year uplift programme. As at 30 June 2022, Essex police has recruited 345 additional officers.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). These data are collected by Police Force Area only. Data on the number of police officers in Essex Police, on both a full-time equivalent (FTE) and a headcount basis are available in the Open Data Tables that accompany the release:
The deployment of officers across a police force area is a decision for operationally independent Chief Constables.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers are designated to cover Harlow and the surrounding villages.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Beating Crime Plan sets out the government’s commitment to driving down crime, protecting the public and increasing public confidence in the criminal justice system. This includes the recruitment of 20,000 additional officers through the Police Uplift Programme. We are working with policing partners to deliver this plan. It is for Chief Constables and elected Police and Crime Commissioners to target their resources (including the deployment of additional officers) to tackle local priorities.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of officers recruited as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme on a quarterly basis. The latest data, covering the situation to 30 June 2022, are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-officer-uplift-statistics. These data are published at Police Force Area level in the supplementary tables accompanying the bulletin.
Essex police has been allocated a total of 449 additional officers for the three year uplift programme. As at 30 June 2022, Essex police has recruited 345 additional officers.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). These data are collected by Police Force Area only. Data on the number of police officers in Essex Police, on both a full-time equivalent (FTE) and a headcount basis are available in the Open Data Tables that accompany the release:
The deployment of officers across a police force area is a decision for operationally independent Chief Constables.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is absolutely committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that ASB has on both individuals and communities.
We provided the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to all forms of ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. These powers are deliberately local in nature, and it is for local agencies to determine whether their use is appropriate in the specific circumstances of each individual case.
In January of this year, the Home Office updated statutory guidance to support local agencies to make effective use of these powers and in July the Beating Crime Plan laid out the Government’s plan for tackling crime and ASB. This included a commitment to working with local agencies and partners to drive down ASB using the full range of powers and tools in the ‘2014 Act’.
In addition, the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund has allocated over £70m to support areas that are disproportionately affected by acquisitive crime. Many of the crime prevention measures supported by the fund, such as improved streetlighting and CCTV, are helping to tackle ASB.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers are serving in Harlow compared with 2018-19.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin. However, data are collected at Police Force Area (PFA) level only, and information on officer numbers at lower levels of geography are not held centrally.
The latest in this statistical series covers the situation in both full time-equivalent (FTE) and headcount terms as at 31 March 2021, and can be found here: Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Home Office:
What steps she is taking to tackle anti-Semitism at public demonstrations.
Answered by Priti Patel
The grotesque antisemitic scenes to which my Rt Hon Friend refers were utterly chilling and disgraceful. And this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated.
The police must take the toughest possible action against any form of antisemitism. Jewish people must feel safe.
Everyone has freedom of speech and the right to protest peacefully. That does not include the right to be racist, to harass anyone, or to incite hatred or violence. Moreover, holding Jewish people collectively responsible for the actions – real or imagined - of the Israeli state is antisemitic. Anyone who engages in antisemitic behaviour must feel the full force of the law.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the number of police officers in Harlow.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is committed to increasing the number of police officers in England and Wales by 20,000 by the end of March 2023.
Essex Police was allocated 135 additional officers in the first year of the police uplift which covers the period to the end of March 2021. In 2020/21 the force received funding of £320.2m. As at 31 December 2020, Essex Police had recruited 101 additional officers.
As announced in the Police Settlement 2021/22, Essex Police has been allocated 132 additional officers for year two of the Police Uplift Programme. Essex Police will receive funding of up to £339m in 2021/22, an increase of up to £18.8m since 2020/21.
The deployment of these officers is an operational decision for the Chief Constable of Essex Police.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent knife crime.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
This Government is determined to turn the tide on knife crime in all areas, wherever it occurs.
On 4 February 2021, the Government published a total police funding settlement of up to £15.8 billion in 2021/22, an increase of up to £636 million compared to 2020/21. Across England and Wales, we are also recruiting 20,000 additional police officers by the end of March 2023.
From 2019 to 2022, this government will have provided over £242 million, through the Serious Violence Fund (SVF), to address the drivers of serious violence at the local level and significantly bolster the police response in 18 Police Force areas most affected by serious violence across England and Wales.
We have also invested £200 million through the 10-Year Youth Endowment Fund to ensure those most at risk are given the opportunity to turn away from violence and lead positive lives.
We have also made it easier for the police to use enhanced stop and search powers and we have introduced Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill which will give the police powers to make it easier to stop and search those already convicted of knife and offensive weapon offences.
Through the PCSC bill, we have also introduced legislation which will place new duties on a range of specified agencies across different sectors, such as local government, youth offending, and health and probation, to work collaboratively, share data and information, and put in place plans to prevent and reduce serious violence.
The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 includes specific measures for knife offences, in particular making it an offence to possess certain offensive weapons in private, and stopping knives being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18. The measures on knives in the Act also include:
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of changes in the level of incidents relating to fraudulent calling during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Fraudulent calls can be particularly stressful and damaging for the most vulnerable in society. Nuisance calls and cold calling can be a gateway to scams, with opportunistic criminals targeting potential victims.
The Government has taken a range of actions to reduce the number of these calls - it has banned cold calls from personal injury firms and pensions providers unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to be contacted. It has introduced director liability for nuisance calls and has supported the National Trading Standards Scams Team to roll out call blocking devices to vulnerable people. DCMS have provided over £1 million in the last 3 years to National Trading Standards for distribution of call blocking devices to vulnerable people. This funding has helped protect some of the most vulnerable in society from nuisance calls and scams, including those originating from overseas.
However, the Government recognises there is more to do and is working closely with industry, regulators and consumer groups to consider further legislative and non-legislative solutions.
The Government is also aware that criminals are exploiting the pandemic to commit opportunistic crimes such as fraud. Although Covid-19 related fraud represents a small proportion of overall fraud reporting, we understand the devastating impact it can have on individuals. Along with partners, we have been implementing measures to ensure the public has the protection and advice needed to shield themselves from these crimes.
We have published guidance for the public to spot potential frauds and the steps they can take to avoid them. This advice can currently be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to strengthen measures to prevent fraudulent calling.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Fraudulent calls can be particularly stressful and damaging for the most vulnerable in society. Nuisance calls and cold calling can be a gateway to scams, with opportunistic criminals targeting potential victims.
The Government has taken a range of actions to reduce the number of these calls - it has banned cold calls from personal injury firms and pensions providers unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to be contacted. It has introduced director liability for nuisance calls and has supported the National Trading Standards Scams Team to roll out call blocking devices to vulnerable people. DCMS have provided over £1 million in the last 3 years to National Trading Standards for distribution of call blocking devices to vulnerable people. This funding has helped protect some of the most vulnerable in society from nuisance calls and scams, including those originating from overseas.
However, the Government recognises there is more to do and is working closely with industry, regulators and consumer groups to consider further legislative and non-legislative solutions.
The Government is also aware that criminals are exploiting the pandemic to commit opportunistic crimes such as fraud. Although Covid-19 related fraud represents a small proportion of overall fraud reporting, we understand the devastating impact it can have on individuals. Along with partners, we have been implementing measures to ensure the public has the protection and advice needed to shield themselves from these crimes.
We have published guidance for the public to spot potential frauds and the steps they can take to avoid them. This advice can currently be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime