| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mr. Simon Hughes (Southwark, North and Bermondsey): I am grateful for the Home Secretary's considered and comprehensive review of the issues in London. We all support the idea that the Met should have the powers that they need to do their job. I ask him to consider one further extension of powers, which they tell me that they do not have and which impedes them greatly.
When a young man was murdered in my constituency in August, a gang of young men were brought in for questioning. Those young men were bailed to reappear for an identity parade. Between their bailing and their reappearance, they had all substantially changed their identity. The police believe that they should have the power to require that people's appearance is the same when they come back as when they were bailed, and that it should be a criminal offence not to comply with that. I believe that many unresolved serious crimes, including murder, would be dealt with better if such a power were introduced.
I shall be grateful if the Home Secretary will look at that issue as a matter of great priority and give officers the power that they say they need.
Mr. Straw:
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that point. The Commissioner has not personally raised that matter with me, but the hon. Gentleman raises a very important issue about improving the detection of crime. I shall certainly consider it. I shall write to him and place a copy of the letter in the House.
There are many other respects--alongside the backing that Lambeth has given the police--in which the community is already involved in maintaining law and order. I should like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers who give up their time to help the Metropolitan police, in particular the 1,600 officers of the Metropolitan special constabulary, the lay visitors who attend and monitor police stations, and members of the police consultative groups, which play an important role in making London policing properly responsive, as do those involved in neighbourhood watch schemes.
In July, I announced the establishment of a full judicial inquiry to look at matters arising from the death of Stephen Lawrence. That inquiry, under the chairmanship of the senior, retired judge, Sir William Macpherson of Cluny, held its first preliminary hearing in October and will begin the main phase of public hearings early next year. It is the first inquiry appointed by any Home Secretary under the Police Act 1964 for more than 16 years. It was, therefore, a decision which I did not take lightly.
When I met the Lawrence family, I was deeply moved and impressed by their determination and courage. They made a strong case for the establishment of an inquiry.
The chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation subsequently supported their case. I believe that the inquiry, under the Police Act powers, will allow the concerns of the Lawrence family and the police service about this case fully to be addressed. I want the inquiry to look forward as well as back. For that reason, I set the terms of reference as follows:
Britain is a multiracial and multicultural society, and the Metropolitan police area is the most racially mixed area in the country. There should be trust and confidence between all sections of the community and the police. That is why I gave my personal backing last month to the launch of a major thematic report by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary which sets out a blueprint for improving policy community relations and for tackling racism. The Metropolitan police have a key role in putting that report into practice. I expect them to do so.
The report confirmed that local communities want to see vigorous action by the police to challenge racist, criminal and anti-social behaviour. It also confirmed the need for the police to receive the active support of the black and Asian communities. This is a two-way, not a one-way, street.
It is generally accepted that the current system for dealing with officers who fall short of what is expected of them is not satisfactory. Police staff associations have been working with the Home Office to design better procedures. Others have echoed Sir Paul Condon's concerns about his powers to deal with rogue officers. This is a difficult area, in which the need for robust and speedy discipline procedures must be balanced with fairness to officers, who are unusually vulnerable to malicious allegations.
The Home Affairs Committee decided in July this year to inquire into police discipline and complaints. It is taking evidence from a range of interested groups and individuals, including the Commissioner. I expect its report around Christmas and await it with interest.
I note--turning to another matter of police personnel policy--that some officers within the force are unhappy with the career development policy for the Met, usually referred to as "tenure". I understand the reasons for that unhappiness, but I also understand that, for effective policing in London, it is crucial that the Metropolitan police service has the right mix of experience and specialist knowledge in police stations. The key is to get the balance right and I have confidence that the Commissioner will do that, balancing the needs of individual officers, local divisions and London as a whole.
The Metropolitan police service is playing an active role in developing and increasing the use of new technologies in the fight against crime. Many details have been given in the Commissioner's annual report and there is no reason for me to repeat them. I merely say that the establishment of the new DNA database, on which I commend the previous Administration and the police service, is producing dramatic new results. One third of
the DNA tests that are taking place within the Metropolitan police service are leading to positive identification. It is an extraordinary and gratifying result.
I shall make some concluding remarks about our overall approach to community safety and youth crime and the changes that we propose to introduce. We shall introduce a crime and disorder Bill to ensure that the police are equipped, along with local authorities, with better and more effective powers to tackle crime reduction and disorder in their areas.
When it comes to specific crimes, it is right that the police service should target such offences as robbery, burglary and drug dealing. We know, however, that many people drift into those crimes through disorder, through their loutish behaviour, which is often difficult to check by means of specific public order legislation. Such behaviour is not being effectively checked by the community as a whole with the backing of the police. I have in mind, for example, graffiti and criminal damage. Those involved drift into disorder and drift further into crime. Too often, regrettably, they get the idea that they can get away with their activities. They then graduate into serious and specific crime.
I am often asked why so many people are in prison. There are many reasons for that, the principal one being that many people commit crimes. Almost every adult in prison began his or her life of crime when a youngster. It is in a sense a testament to the failure of the youth justice system that we allow young people, certainly until they are 15, to get away with the idea that they can commit crime after crime and suffer no serious sanction. Against that background, we should not be surprised if, at the age of 17 or 18, they have graduated into serious crime and need to be incarcerated for quite a long time.
We intend to change things and bring about significant root-and-branch reforms to the youth justice system to ensure that offending is nipped in the bud. We shall ensure that there is active intervention that confronts offending behaviour. If necessary, youngsters who do not get the message may have to be taken into custody for a period. We intend also to ensure that the police and local authorities are given proper powers through community safety orders to deal with criminal anti-social behaviour so that the police and the community do not have to go through the frustration of seeking specific convictions for low-level public order offences, which are often difficult to prove.
We can build on the work of some local authorities, including the pioneering work of Southwark and Coventry. We intend to give the police and local authorities the right to go to the magistrates court to seek restraining injunctions on the civil burden of evidence, not least because the victims of offending behaviour will not be victims twice over by having to go through the process of going to court and suffering that indignity or pressure, or being intimidated into silence. Such orders are designed to get round the intimidation that bullies currently administer to prevent the detection of their crimes.
There are many right hon. and hon. Members on both sides of the House who wish to take part in the debate. That being so, I shall bring my remarks to a close. I am in no doubt--
Mr. Geraint Davies:
As for combating youth crime, is my right hon. Friend aware that in Croydon the police
"particularly to identify the lessons to be learned for the investigation and prosecution of racially motivated crimes."
The purpose is not just to find out what went wrong, although that is an important part of it. I believe that there will be lessons to be learned for the community and the police in racially mixed areas, and lessons to be learned more generally about relations between minority ethnic communities and the police.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |