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Police Constable Gerald Walker

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Paul Goggins): Today I am publishing and placing in the Library the report of the inquiry by Her Majesty's chief inspector of probation into the death of police constable Gerald Walker. In his report, the chief inspector makes a number of recommendations for changes to the way in which the probation, prison and police services manage the release on licence, supervision and revocation of licence of

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offenders who are serving part of their sentence under supervision in the community. The services have accepted those recommendations in full. I am therefore able to report that I am today also placing in the Library a copy of the detailed action plan which I have agreed with the key correctional services agencies to ensure that the lessons of PC Walker's tragic death are learned and appropriate changes are introduced.

Police constable Walker was a serving officer of the Nottinghamshire constabulary at the time of his death at the hands of David Parfitt in Nottingham following the tragic events of 7 January last year. Parfitt had been convicted of robbery on 16 May 2002 and sentenced to two years imprisonment. He was released into the supervision of staff of the Nottinghamshire probation area on 11 September 2002. His licence, which in the normal way would have run until 13 March 2003 included among other conditions, a requirement that Parfitt undergo regular testing for the presence of class A drugs as arranged by the probation service. He was also subject for the first 60 days of his period in the community to an electronically monitored home detention curfew condition which required that he remain at his approved address between 7.15 pm and 7.15 am.

At the time PC Walker was killed, Parfitt had completed his period of home detention curfew without breaking the conditions of that curfew, but had recorded a number of positive tests for the presence of class A drugs and had failed to attend a number of appointments with his supervising officer. As a consequence, his supervising officer had requested, and the Home Office approved, the revocation of Mr Parfitt's licence on 9 December 2002.

Parfitt was unlawfully at large from that date until 8 January 2003, when he was arrested by the Nottinghamshire police. During that time, Parfitt caused the injuries to PC Walker from which he subsequently died when the officer fell from a vehicle in which Parfitt was seeking to escape. Parfitt was subsequently convicted of manslaughter for the death of PC Walker and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.

PC Gerald Walker's attempts to arrest David Parfitt were the actions of a brave man and a dedicated police officer. They deserve the unreserved commendation of the House. His death as a consequence of Parfitt's actions was an irreparable loss to the Nottinghamshire police service and the people of Nottingham, but even more a personal tragedy for his wife and family. I know that I speak for the whole House in expressing my deepest sympathy and condolences to Mrs. Tracy Walker for her loss.

Following PC Walker's death, Mrs Walker was not satisfied that the correctional services agencies had been as open with her about the circumstances of her husband's death as they were required to be. She was concerned that failures in the way in which Parfitt's case had been handled had actually contributed to the situation which led to the death of her husband. She formally complained to the national probation service and on 13 December last year I, together with my hon. Friend the Minister for Crime Reduction, Policing and Community Safety, asked HM Chief Inspector of Probation, Professor Rod Morgan, to carry out an

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inquiry into the actions of the prison service, Nottinghamshire probation area and Nottinghamshire constabulary in relation to the events which culminated in and followed the death of PC Walker.

I have now received the report of that inquiry. On behalf of myself and my hon. Friend I would like to take this opportunity to thank the chief inspector and his team for the scrupulous manner in which they have approached this important and sensitive inquiry.

Professor Morgan's report covers issues at both the local, operational level and in respect of the national policy which informed local practice. He reports that he found a number of failings in the handling of Parfitt's case which, if carried out differently, could have resulted in the earlier revocation of his licence and the possibility of his earlier arrest. He makes a number of recommendations for changes affecting all three services which he believes will reduce the risk of similar failings arising in future and which will contribute to the greater safety of the public.

Professor Morgan also identifies serious flaws in the way that the Probation Service dealt with Mrs Walker.

Professor Morgan has identified a number of areas in which our present practice for the safe management of offenders in the community can and should be improved. The Government and services accept Professor Morgan's analysis and will implement the changes he proposes. The action plan I have today placed in the Library sets out how we propose to take forward the implementation of the key recommendations outlined by the inquiry report.

Money Laundering Reporting System

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Caroline Flint): An important asset in our fight against crime is the system under which businesses report money laundering to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) and that information is analysed for use in investigations. I am therefore pleased to report that substantial improvements to that system have been achieved over recent months. The reforms must continue and be built on but it is clear that new arrangements are being developed which have the potential to have a greater impact on crime.

The setting up of the Money Laundering Reporting Taskforce:

In September 2003, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary set up a Taskforce to follow up the findings of a review by the consultants KPMG, commissioned by the Home Office, on the regime for handling reports relating to money laundering. The Taskforce's membership is drawn from key interested parties in the public and private sectors and the Financial Services Authority. It has given me an interim report on the progress of follow-up and the key challenges which remain in delivering a better system.

Summary of the key findings of the Taskforce:

The view of the Taskforce is that the money laundering reporting regime has an important role to play in the fight against crime and terrorism, but equally that the burden the system places on reporting institutions and the public purse must be proportionate. This requires a system that delivers, and is seen to deliver, value to law enforcement, and which must be robust from end to end (from reporting institution via NCIS to law enforcement and the criminal justice system). Considerable progress has been made since the publication in

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July 2003 of the KPMG report, but these improvements must be sustained and much still remains to be done. The Taskforce believes the Government should keep the reporting regime under review to ensure it is, and remains, effective and proportionate and that better systems are needed to measure its costs and benefits.

Key challenges identified by the Taskforce:

The Taskforce considered that the key challenges over the system are:

All those involved in the reporting regime need to turn the closer co-operation of recent months into effective action and the system must be developed, not in isolation, but as a key element of the UK's wider anti- money laundering policy;

NCIS need to ensure they can respond to the further increase in reports expected with the widening from 1 March of the range of institutions covered by the Money Laundering Regulations and related reporting obligations. A key element in this is successful operation of the new, differential, reporting system just introduced by NCIS which covers activities that will be of little intelligence value;

NCIS and law enforcement agencies need to provide more support to those institutions reporting on money laundering, so as to improve the quality of those reports;

Disclosing institutions need to continue to work to improve their staffs awareness of reporting obligations, compliance with the law and the production of good quality reports;

The public sector needs to communicate better with disclosing institutions about the reporting regime and to recognise the diverse nature of the businesses in the regulated sector and the money laundering risks they face. To address this issue, the Taskforce has been working on developing and implementing a short-term and long-term communications strategy;

The Taskforce identified the limited capacity of police forces to follow up the intelligence derived from reports on money laundering as one of the main barriers to an effective system.

The Government's response to the interim report:

The Government welcome the improvements made to date to the reporting system to help fight crime. The Taskforce has found that information from reports on money laundering is now being analysed better and sent on to law enforcement agencies much more quickly; but also stressed that these improvements must be sustained and much still remains to be done. I have therefore asked for a further report in early summer, at which point I will consider how best we can continue to drive forward and monitor progress on this important task.

The reporting system is a key element in the United Kingdom's defences against money laundering and an important source of intelligence on all types of acquisitive crime (drugs trafficking, theft, fraud, and all other types of crime committed for financial gain). So it is crucial to ensure that it is effective but that the costs it imposes on the private sector are proportionate.

The Government recognise that the whole system is built on the work of the institutions making reports. It relies heavily on the part that the private sector play in this partnership to fight crime, and I would like here to pay tribute to the money laundering reporting officers and all the others in the private sector involved in the making of these reports.

The fight against money laundering is one element in the Government's wider strategy to take the profit out of crime. As part of this strategy I was delighted to announce on 24 February a new incentive scheme for the police. The scheme will give the police a direct

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financial incentive to recover even more criminally acquired wealth, by giving them a stake in the assets they recover. They will receive a third of all assets above £40 million recovered next year, increasing to 50 per cent. in 2005–06. The maximum benefit available to the police will be £43 million in 2004–05, rising to £65 million in 2005–06.

I acknowledge that the Association of Chief Police Officers have expressly requested that money under the incentive scheme should not be ring-fenced for specific purposes and we have therefore not done that. However, at a time when police numbers in England and Wales have reached a record level and we are giving extra funding through the incentive scheme, I hope that the police will be investing more effort in working on intelligence derived from reports of money laundering. This would be in line with the National Policing Plan 2004–07, which encourages police forces to ensure that intelligence from the reporting system is used to the full.

The intelligence from the money laundering reporting system can be of great value in fighting all manner of acquisitive crime. The reporting system is a key element in our strategy, and it is crucial to ensure that we use the information from reports as effectively as possible to detect and deter criminals.

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