(Bromley and Chislehurst)
(Con): For many victims of burglary, the intrusion into
their home, personal space and life is tantamount to an assault.
Is it not time that steps were taken to ensure that domestic
burglaries are effectively treated as crimes of violence, in
terms of police resourcing and priority, and sentencing?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department (Victoria Atkins): I thank my hon. Friend for
his question. He is absolutely right: the intrusion into a
person’s home in a domestic burglary can completely undermine
their feeling of safety at home. That is why we continue to
ensure that the police have the resources that they need to cut
crime and keep our communities safe, and of course make sure that
Police and Crime Commissioners—for example, in London—set the
policing priorities for their area.
(Bristol East)
(Lab): In the past four years, recorded crime in Avon
and Somerset has risen by 40%, with violent crime rising by over
75%. In contrast, the number of charges brought has fallen by
26%. When is the Minister going to listen to Police and Crime
Commissioners and chief constables and give the forces the
funding they need so they can actually tackle crime in our
constituencies?
The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service (Mr Nick
Hurd): I was in Bristol last week talking to the police
and crime commissioner and the chief constable, as well as
visiting the Home Secretary’s former manor. I hope the hon. Lady
will welcome, although she voted against it, the additional £8
million that has gone into Avon and Somerset policing, and I am
sure she will look forward to the police funding settlement
shortly.
(East Worthing and Shoreham)
(Con): Like Bedfordshire, Oldham and other force areas,
Sussex has faced severe pressures in funding its police numbers,
so our police and crime commissioner bravely urged a high
increase in the police precept in order to recruit 200 additional
officers each year for the next four years. That amount has been
wiped out by the reassessment of the pension requirement over the
next few years, such that we will not be able to recruit any more
without digging into reduced funds. How are we going to get extra
police officers?
Mr Hurd: I join my hon. Friend in saluting the
leadership of , who, like most PCCs, is either
protecting or increasing the number of police officers as a
result of the settlement we took through Parliament this year. We
have debated the issue of the increase in pension costs. The
Treasury has made it clear that it is going to contribute to part
of the cost. The rest of the solution will be evident in the
police funding settlement.
(Mitcham and Morden)
(Lab): What recent assessment he has made of the
adequacy of police numbers; and if he will make a
statement.
The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service (Mr Nick
Hurd): This year, the Government took through a police
funding settlement that resulted in an additional £460 million of
public investment in policing. Most Police and Crime
Commissioners are either maintaining or increasing the number of
police officers.
: One of the
casualties resulting from the cut of 21,000 police officers since
2010 has been the safer neighbourhood team in Mitcham town
centre. The consequence has been an increase in drug dealing,
street drinking, fighting, antisocial behaviour and men urinating
in the street, which has meant that women do not want to take
their children into the town centre. When will the Home Office
accept the correlation between visible policing and crime, so
that we can afford to have enough police to put more bobbies back
on the beat in Mitcham and every town centre?
Mr Hurd: Speaking as a London MP and the
Minister for London, I hope the hon. Lady will welcome the fact
that the Met commissioner is actively recruiting an additional
1,000 officers, on top of the 1,000 the Met needs to recruit to
stand still.
(Ashfield) (Lab):
This morning, I learned that a café in my constituency had been
broken into for the third time this year. This is not an isolated
incident: burglary in Nottinghamshire is up this year, as it was
up last year. How much more evidence do we need to get more
police on the streets?
Mr Hurd: In the police settlement that the hon.
Lady voted against, additional funding has gone into policing,
and, as I said, most Police and Crime Commissioners are actively
recruiting additional officers. I hope she welcomes that.
(Faversham and Mid Kent)
(Con): T1. If he will make a statement on his
departmental responsibilities. [907976]
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid
Javid): I recently announced that 29 projects endorsed
by Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales will
receive £17.7 million of funding to divert children and young
people away from violent crime. I published the Government’s new
strategy for tackling serious and organised crime and pledged at
least £48 million for 2019-20 to target illicit finance. I have
been to America to convene a “hackathon” where industry experts
work together to develop tools to detect online child grooming.
All this work is designed to keep our people safe.
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