Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Police Officers: Protecting Communities

Monday 6 February 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government committed substantial extra funding to invest in policing and to reduce crime, including recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers by March.
  • Total police funding settlement for 2023-24 confirmed at a maximum of 17 billion.
  • Minister emphasized the importance of face-to-face interviews in recruitment to maintain high standards in policing.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Matthew Offord Con
Policing & Resources
Context

The MP is concerned about steps to ensure police protect communities, referencing the government's commitment to recruiting more officers.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that police officers protect communities. The Government have committed substantial extra funding to invest in policing and to reduce crime, including the recruitment of an additional 20,000 police officers by March. We recently confirmed a total police funding settlement of a maximum of £17 billion for 2023-24.

Answer from Suella Braverman

The Government have committed substantial extra funding to invest in policing and to reduce crime, including the recruitment of an additional 20,000 police officers by March. We recently confirmed a total police funding settlement of a maximum of £17 billion for 2023-24. We have seen great results: a fall in overall crime since 2019 thanks to this Government, a fall in domestic burglary since 2019 thanks to this Government, and a fall in violent crime since 2019 thanks to this Government—more police, less crime and safer streets.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer provided statistics on overall crime reduction but did not directly address the specific steps taken to ensure officers protect communities beyond recruitment and funding figures.

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Q2 Matthew Offord Con
Policing & Resources Standards & Ethics
Context

The MP is concerned about the trustworthiness of police training due to incidents at Hendon Police College, including staff assaults, inappropriate use of pain compliance techniques, cheating in exams, and subsequent lying by trainees.

Question

Hendon Police College was once an exemplar of British policing, but there have been accusations of police staff officers being assaulted, inappropriate use of pain compliance techniques and multiple cases of cheating in exams, where the perpetrators subsequently lied about it—all by trainee police officers. How can there be trust in the police to protect the public when the recruitment process fails to identify the fundamentally dishonest?

Answer from Suella Braverman

My hon. Friend is right to raise that point about standards in policing and, in particular, the recruitment methods used to increase the forces. That is why we need to improve our standards. I am glad that many forces have committed to a face-to-face interview—that is absolutely vital to weed out the inappropriate applicants. We need to ensure that there is a rapid review of all forces' responses to the inspectorate's recent report on vetting and counter-corruption. I know that the Met commissioner is taking this issue incredibly seriously and has put in place a rigorous plan to improve standards and restore confidence.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q3 Andrew Gwynne Ind Gorton and Denton
Policing & Resources Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

The MP is concerned about antisocial behaviour in his constituency, including illegal motorbike use resulting in fatalities and vandalism by youth. The police have been unable to respond effectively.

Question

Kids in my constituency are razzing around the streets illegally on motorbikes. Sadly, two have died as a consequence of accidents they were involved in. The worst of it is that, on both occasions, the police have been caught on the hop by impromptu vigils that have taken place at the accident spots. Hundreds of other kids are defacing public and private property and intimidating residents, and the police are powerless to act. That shows that turning the police funding taps off and on has lost us experience. What will the Home Secretary do to get that experience back?

Answer from Suella Braverman

I will tell the House why the hon. Gentleman is absolutely wrong in his analysis. We are on track to recruit 20,000 police officers. That is the highest number of police officers ever known in this country—higher than in the Labour years and higher than in the 1990s, so I am sorry, but the facts do not support his accusation of reduced funding and reduced resources. He raises an important point about antisocial behaviour, and that is my priority: graffiti, vandalism, drug dealing, nuisance boy racers—they all have to be stopped. That is why increased numbers of police officers and neighbourhood policing on the ground are going to be able to tackle exactly the problem he talks about.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer disputed the MP's analysis but did not provide specific actions or commitments beyond generic statements about addressing antisocial behaviour.

How: He Raises An Important Point, I Will Tell The House Why The Hon. Gentleman Is Absolutely Wrong In His Analysis

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