A Difficult Time for British Policing
I present this Police and Crime Plan to you at a difficult time for British Policing.
The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police – widely regarded as the most senior police officer in the UK – has been pushed out of office. The Mayor of London and the Home Secretary are reportedly at loggerheads over what type of police officer should take up the reins.
The Media – always on the lookout for a headline – have promoted story after story about individual police officers who have misbehaved. They portray the rare individual as being the rule, the rogue as being the norm. There are 135,000 police officers in England and Wales yet there are some who try to define British policing as morally corrupt and an organisation who preys on the innocent and vulnerable. The truth is the Police protect us; they keep us safe and the uphold the law ethically and sensitively.
Pressure groups and individuals with a political agenda stoke the flames of anti-police propaganda and prejudice. Identity politics is used by ambitious individuals to fragment our society, setting one community against another, one religion against another – all in the cause of gaining power and influence. all too often the police are a convenient punchbag for them to use. As the Police and Crime Commissioner I am and will be outspoken to protect the police from the acidic undertones which are only set to damage and undermine the incredible work the police do day in and day out.
If we are not very careful the rule of law will diminish in this country – and in our city in particular. We cannot allow this to happen and we must all be prepared to have some uncomfortable conversations.
Undoubtedly there are problems in the British police force. Some individuals have proven to be corrupt. Others have behaved with dangerous sexually predatory behaviour. A few have behaved with shocking prejudice against those of different races, religions and backgrounds. And there are some parts of the service where the culture in the work place is repulsive.
Faced by this turmoil some senior police officers and national institutions have taken the wrong path, they seem to lack the authority, resilience and the moral courage which define the people they lead.
Understandably, but dangerously, they have shirked the difficult and thankless task of facing up to those who are the enemies of the police. Not wanting to get involved in politics, they have sought to avoid political disputes. But by doing so they have capitulated to those who wish the police forces ill, caved in to pressure and ceded ground that should have been held.
We don’t expect our senior officers to be politically partisan but they do need to be politically adept, politically agile and politically intuitive whilst maintaining their commitment to the people they serve, our great British public.
I am glad to say that here in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland our magnificent police force has managed to avoid many of the problems that can be seen elsewhere. But I am sure the Deputy will confirm this force is still subject to the threat of being in the sites of those who will do all that they can to undermine local confidence.
We have effective recruitment and training programmes, and robust disciplinary systems to deal with any issues that do arise. The Deputy Chair of this panel was until recently Deputy PCC. I am sure that he can confirm to this Panel that here we are lucky to have a highly effective and efficient police force which goes out of its way to maintain the very highest standards.
But if we are lucky here, the public still see bad news items on their TV screens and social media feeds, a travesty of justice if ever there was one. But it will still have an impact on impression people have of the police.
Sir Robert Peel
We must remember the wise words uttered by Sir Robert Peel when he set up the modern police force nearly two centuries ago.
Here in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland most police officers have not forgotten those wise words. I know that the Deputy Chief Constable here has not forgotten them. Neither have I.
I printed them in my election manifesto, and they are repeated in this Police and Crime Plan.
“To seek and preserve public favour, not by pandering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law.
“To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police.”
This is a Plan that aims to give the police who cover Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland the training, equipment and leadership that they need to strengthen the relationship between the law abiding public and the police. Only by doing that can we ensure effective and efficient policing for our communities.
Members of this Panel will be aware that I inherited from my predecessor a target that 1 in 4 of new recruits should be from ethnic minorities. That is a target that I have kept.
I have not just kept it, I have brought to this Panel details of how that target is being achieved. I will continue to bring such reports here so that this Panel, and through it the public can know and understand what is happening.
But having this 1 in 4 target alone is not good enough. That is why I have been asking the Chief Constable for figures on retention and on promotion. Nor are the ethnic minorities alone in being under-represented in our police.
I am asking for figures to be compiled on religion, social class and other factors. I will not rest until we have a fair representation of farmer’s children from our rural villages, kids off the Monsell, youngsters new to adulthood and experienced old troopers.
The Police are the Public and the Public are the Police.
It is not just the background of our recruits that is crucial. So is training.
That is why I am encouraging more resources into our new Training Academy. Officers and staff need to know the law, they need to understand how to defuse situations, they need to understand the communities that they will be policing.
And I am putting resources into the equipment that our officers and staff use to keep peace and order on our streets.
Two weeks ago, I visited our vehicle maintenance garage where the cars, vans, bikes and even our boat are kept ready for action. I met some wonderful people and was told of the way that they are responding to my call for more environmentally friendly vehicles by the fact that vehicles are being brought in for trial, to see if they can perform as the police need them to do so while at the same time cutting down on pollution.
Amazingly, I was the first Police and Crime Commissioner to visit. There so many great people who work in policing whose contribution largely goes unnoticed but is so important to the efficient working of the force. Their support to the policing of this police area is critical and I pay tribute to them.
Other sections and departments are also receiving the resources that they need to ensure that our officers and staff stay on the front foot against crime.
You could have all the police officers you could wish for, but if they don’t have functioning cars, working radios, technology infrastructure and safe body armour they won’t be able to do their jobs properly.
Plan Contents
I am sure that all Panel members have taken the time to read through this plan, so I do not intend to go through it line by line. I am, however, happy to answer any questions that this panel may have.
The Plan Production Process
Those of you who were on this Panel a few weeks ago will have already seen an earlier version of this Plan. I listened carefully to what it told me and have incorporated those comments into this new version.
I have also consulted in depth with the Chief Constable, the Deputy Chief Constable and their Chief Officer Team. They studied the earlier versions with a calm and detached eye. They too made suggestions and again I have taken those into this version of the Plan.
Perhaps most importantly, as we live in a democracy, I have consulted with the Public. That consultation was widespread and in depth. Many stakeholders were email an early version of the plan. Hundreds of thousands of leaflets were delivered to homes across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland giving a link to an on-line version of the Plan so that the public could read it, comment on it and know that their voices too were heard.
But the important thing about this plan it is not just a list of nice things to do, it has been constructed in a way which will be underpinned by a strong suite of performance measures. This will enable me and the panel to measure the success of the plan like never before.
And so here we are.
Summary
This Plan is designed to give the Leicestershire Police a clear mandate to deliver a police service which meets the needs and expectations of the community. It is unapologetically ambitious, detailed and wide ranging to meet the needs and expectations of all of our communities, city and the county alike.
Sir Robert Peel philosophy is at the heart of the plan. It is as valid today as the day Sir Robert established the modern police. And it is what the public has said they want. It will enable the Leicestershire Police to build on its excellent track record to do its job properly.
Members the Police and Crime Panel I commend this Plan to you.
