PM and Smith launch "new era" of policing

Monday, 31 March 2008 12:00 AM

The prime minister and home secretary today promised a "new era of policing", with a greater emphasis on communities' needs and concerns.

At an event in Coventry, Gordon Brown and Jacqui Smith announced plans for a new policing pledge, which will set minimum standards for policing.

Coming into force later in the year, the pledge will tell people what they can expect from their police force.

Possible minimum standards include visits at convenient times, good treatment and support for victims and regular reporting on progress.

Mr Smith said it marked the start of a "fundamentally different approach" with the citizen at the heart while Mr Brown hailed a "new era" of policing.

The pair also confirmed neighbourhood policing teams have now been rolled out across the country.

Every household should now be able to contact a dedicated team via a phone number or a community meeting to discuss specific problems in their local area.

Teams will work with communities to set local priorities, which could include targeting anti-social behaviour, drug abuse or public drinking.

Mr Brown said: "Every community now has a visible, contactable, and accountable policing team, working with local people to keep their neighbourhood safe.

"I'm determined that every person has access to the same level of support and service when it comes to policing.

"That is why we are launching a new policing pledge to give everyone the opportunity to be involved in setting priorities in their area.

"I encourage everyone to get involved and have a say about how their streets are policed."

The prime minister and Ms Smith thanked police forces and authorities for their hard work in getting the scheme into operation.

Ms Smith said: "I am delighted to have reached this momentous milestone with over 3,600 neighbourhood policing teams in place, consisting of 13,500 police officers and over 16,000 police community support officers and congratulate all the forces involved.

"This new approach to policing builds on changes also starting today to slash red tape and reduce central targets for police - freeing them up to spend more time on local priorities and tackling serious crimes."

Matt Baggott, chief constable of Leicestershire and ACPO lead for Neighbourhood Policing, said the rollout of dedicated local teams was a great achievement for the police.

"It is even better news for the people we serve who are noticing the difference," he continued.

"Public confidence continues to rise as does the level of awareness amongst local people of who their teams are and how to contact them."

The reforms follow a report by the former chief inspector of constabulary, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, which said the police must be more "customer-focused".

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• policing and crime
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