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Hunting with Hounds
5. Mr. Gordon Prentice (Pendle): When he expects to receive the report of the Burns Inquiry; and if he will make a statement. [121535]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Mike O'Brien): We have always indicated that Lord Burns hopes to submit his report to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary by late spring. My right hon. Friend hopes to publish it shortly thereafter.
Mr. Prentice: That is splendid news, but what is the Government's general position? Do they still want a ban on hunting with dogs to be piloted through the Commons by means of the private Member's Bill mechanism? If so, would not that risk the measure being torpedoed in the
House of Lords? Would not it make sense for the Government to bring forward a multi-option Bill, along the lines of the one that became the Sunday Trading Act 1994? That would allow hon. Members of all parties to express a definitive and conclusive opinion on an issue that at present is merely festering?
Mr. O'Brien: I understand the point that my hon. Friend makes. The Government are, of course, neutral on the issue, which is a matter for a free vote in the House of Commons. The Government took the view that the best way forward was by way of a private Member's Bill, after the Burns inquiry has reported. We have said that we will offer reasonable Government time, if necessary, and drafting assistance for a private Member's Bill, which would be considered by the House on a free vote. I understand that all parties are likely to allow a free vote.
I am sure that my hon. Friend would be pleased to welcome to his camp the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe). Unlike the rest of the Conservative party, she has always made clear her belief that there should be a ban on fox hunting.
Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham): Has the Burns inquiry assessed the likelihood of Britons hunting abroad in the event that hunting is banned in this country?
Mr. O'Brien: What the Burns inquiry assesses must be included in the terms of reference that we have set for it. It is for the inquiry to determine how to interpret the terms of reference.
Crime Statistics
6. Fiona Mactaggart (Slough): What progress he has made with preparations for collating statistics about crime, police numbers and achievements in preventing and tackling crime by basic command units. [121536]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Charles Clarke): We are committed to publishing information that allows local people to judge and compare performance. Recorded crime statistics were published at basic command unit level for the first time in January this year. The next publication will be in July. We are currently preparing an analysis of statistical families of basic command units, which would allow more effective comparison between different parts of the country.
Fiona Mactaggart: I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. However, is he aware that the figures that have been published so far seem to demonstrate that police in the town of Slough work much harder than do police in the rest of the Thames valley? Will he consider making that information more widely available by publishing how many constables are attached to each basic command unit, as well as the number of crimes that have been committed? That would show where the police have to work hardest, and it might persuade our chief constable that he should allocate more constables to Slough.
Mr. Clarke: The question of the work rates of officers in different parts of the Thames Valley police force is a matter not for me but for the chief constable. We are prepared to consider publishing more data about what is happening at basic command unit level. That data would
include the number of officers allocated to each unit. The inspectorate of constabulary intends to carry out a rolling range of inspections at basic command unit level from April 2001, which will allow a detailed analysis of the sort of matter that my hon. Friend has raised.
Mr. Simon Hughes (Southwark, North and Bermondsey): Figures from the Home Office research department and the British crime survey show that, out of every 100 crimes committed, 47 are reported and 27 are recorded. However, only five crimes are cleared up, and only three result in a caution or conviction.
Does the Minister agree that the priorities are to prevent crime and to detect it? To avoid an increasingly ridiculous British auction of ever-more draconian sentences being imposed--an approach that has not been effective in the past--will he convene a meeting with his counterparts in the other two main parties to examine what works to deter crime? Will he undertake to ensure that every community, rural and urban, can at least have officers on the ground? That would reassure those communities, and make sure that someone is in the front line, preventing and detecting crime.
Mr. Clarke: The hon. Gentleman asks a compendium question. I certainly agree that we are focusing on reducing and detecting crime by all means possible. The whole thrust of our policy is, as the hon. Gentleman says, on what works, identifying the best technique and driving it forward. That is why we established the best value regime for the police earlier this year. I wish that politicians of all parties would share that aspiration and stop trying to undermine confidence in the police, as some of our opponents frequently do in what they say. I confirm that our approach is to see what works and to drive crime down.
Mr. Robin Corbett (Birmingham, Erdington): There is a wide welcome in my constituency for the provision of such information at basic or operational command unit level. Does the Minister agree that it makes it far easier for members of the public to understand what the police are doing--their success and the challenges that they face--if these partnerships are built from the bottom up rather than from headquarters down?
Mr. Clarke: I completely agree with my hon. Friend. The purpose of what we intend to do is to raise public debate and have much more positive discussion about strategies and ways in which people can work together. An important part of publishing the data at BCU level is also to align the boundaries of basic command units and local authorities and therefore crime reduction partnerships. That allows us to establish the best ways of reducing crime in different parts of the country.
Mr. David Lidington (Aylesbury): But surely the Government's statistics demonstrate that after five years in which recorded crime consistently fell, we are now seeing a disturbing upward trend in recorded crime in England and Wales. What is the Minister's explanation for this renewed surge in crime?
Mr. Clarke: The statistics actually demonstrate strikingly different levels of crime reduction performance in various basic command units. That is the single most
striking factor. It is true for police authorities generally but, more important, it is true at basic command unit level. Basic command units which might be thought to be broadly similar in character are in fact demonstrating dramatically different levels of performance in bringing crime down. That is why we introduced the best value regime and why we are publishing the data--to get a much more effective and accurate fix on what really will bring crime down, which is the whole focus of what we are trying to do.Community Police Officers
7. Mr. Hilary Benn (Leeds, Central): If he will make a statement on the role of community police officers. [121537]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Charles Clarke): The community beat officer is a vital link between the police service as a whole and the community policed by that particular officer. A dedicated, proactive community beat officer plays an important role in fighting crime, whether by identifying and tackling local crime problems, providing intelligence, or combating fear of crime. An inspection currently being carried out by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary, entitled "Winning the Race 3", pays special attention to individual forces' use of community beat officers as a key factor in service delivery.
Mr. Benn: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his reply, and in particular his comments about the valuable contribution made by community beat officers to visible local policing. When does he expect all police forces to have in place a policy covering the limited circumstances in which such officers can be taken off their beat duties, so that they can spend as much time as possible doing the job which they are employed to do?
Mr. Clarke: One of the aspirations of the inspectorate of constabulary's report, "Winning the Race 3", is to increase the number of forces that have policies of the kind referred to by my hon. Friend. Over the past 10 months or so, the number of forces that have policies in place has nearly doubled, and they continue to proceed. We do not have a specific timetable for all forces, but we have the aspiration of ensuring that that happens as quickly as possible.
Mr. John Wilkinson (Ruislip-Northwood): Is the Minister aware that, notwithstanding the very welcome visit of the noble Lord Bassam of Brighton to the Hillingdon borough, hosted by my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Randall) and the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (Mr. McDonnell), and our joint visit, as a threesome, to see the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis about policing matters, especially community policing, I have been informed that our borough is to have not a single extra uniformed policeman to put on the beat or anywhere else? Is it not the case that Her Majesty's Government are seriously misleading the public, certainly as far as outer London is concerned, with their bland assertions that more manpower will be available, when clearly it will not?
Mr. Clarke: I remind the hon. Gentleman that under his Government, the number of Metropolitan police officers fell by 2,000. The subject of policing in outer London has been widely debated, not only by the hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends but by others. It is an operational matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to decide what the allocation of his resources is. I know that he is committed to very effective policing in outer London, including the area that the hon. Gentleman represents, and I am sure that he said that to the hon. Gentleman when he met him.
Ms Glenda Jackson (Hampstead and Highgate): The invaluable contribution that has been made to my constituency by community police officers is immensely valued by my constituents, not least in reducing the incidence of drug abuse, racial harassment and, more particularly, domestic violence. Therefore, my hon. Friend will be aware, as I am sure are all hon. Members, of the stupefaction felt by many of my constituents at the decision of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to allow into the country for the second time a proven abuser of women. Can my hon. Friend be sure that he will issue direct and reinforcing guidance to all community police officers that, despite my right hon. Friend's decision, violence against women is not endorsed by the Government?
Mr. Clarke: I can confirm that domestic violence, and particularly violence against women, is a significant target of the Government's policy. We have established many support programmes, which have been focused on reducing domestic violence, securing a better level of reporting of it and getting a much better level of co-operation between the police and social workers, for example, to fight domestic violence.
The particular decision to which my hon. Friend referred is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and is not related specifically to the role of community police officers.
Mr. David Heath (Somerton and Frome): I welcome what the Minister said about community policing, but does he agree that for many chief constables community policing and, indeed, the entire patrol function is a marginal activity when resources are scarce, and tends to be lost? If he is to produce figures relating to basic command units, as described in response to the previous question, would it not be important to ensure that resources follow need in basic command units, particularly in rural areas, and especially those rural areas that come under a force that covers urban areas as well? Will they get the additional support that they need for rural policing?
Mr. Clarke: I do not think that any chief constable thinks that community policing is a marginal activity, to use the hon. Gentleman's term. I have visited many forces and I have discussed this very matter with the senior police officers responsible. They are committed to establishing regimes of community policing that really will make a difference. As the hon. Gentleman says, publishing data at BCU level will enable us to have a much more informed debate about these matters in future, which will be in the interests of all concerned.
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