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5 November 2008
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith delivered this speech to the Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Group, hosted by Ipsos-Mori, on 5 November 2008.
The audience today brings together strategic decision makers from the police, local authorities, the courts and probation service.
You hold in your hands the power to make decisions that will improve the public’s day to day experience on what is still their number one priority – crime.
It’s fantastic to see so many of you here to debate and push forward our understanding of what shapes the public’s experiences and opinions – a subject on which our hosts MORI have already made an important contribution through the Narrowing the Gap report.
I’m delighted also to be at the first public event held by the new Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Group, headed by Louise Casey. I’ve asked Louise to lead a programme which I believe will be a powerful force to help you tackle the issues that matter to your communities, about which I will say more later.
Progress we have made
As Home Secretary my number one priority is to ensure that people can get on with their lives feeling safe and without fear.
I am proud to say that over the last ten years we have made real progress and that our streets are safer as a result.
Neighbourhood policing teams have put an army of around 30,000 dedicated police officers and PCSOs into the heart of our communities, tackling problems and giving policing a visible face.
The creation of CDRPs and LCJBS has helped all the services who have a role to play in tackling crime and delivering justice to work together.
Crime is down. From the British Crime Survey we know that there has been a 48% reduction in crime since 1995.
Anti-social behaviour has been tackled. The Best Value survey of over half a million members of the public showed that concern about anti-social behaviour fell in 94% of CDRP areas between 2003 and 2006.
Those who offend are dealt with. 60% more violent and dangerous offenders are locked up, and for longer, than in 1997.
Our actions, and the hard work of colleagues in the police, in councils, the courts and probation has delivered results.
The challenge we face
But as I said my role is to stand shoulder to shoulder with the public.
And whilst they recognise the progress we have made they are clear that we must go further.
The work of both Sir Ronnie Flanagan and Louise Casey made clear that too often local people see a gap between their expectations and their experience, between national statistics and local action.
Only a third of the public think that the criminal justice system meets the needs of victims but almost four in five (79%) believe it respects the rights of offenders.
That is hard to hear but we cannot ignore what the public are telling us, or dismiss their views as ill informed.
This is not a time for disappointment or doing things cautiously. It is time for bold leadership and action to respond more effectively to what the public are telling us matters to them and to win back trust.
Policing Green Paper
The Policing Green Paper I published earlier this year set out a radical response to these challenges and a framework to change the way the police and others operate.
Freeing up the police to deliver for communities
The police told us that some targets had become a distraction.
Both Sir Ronnie and Louise made clear that we need to free up the police to use their professional expertise to deliver for the public.
The public were concerned that red tape was stopping the police from getting on with the job.
We listened, and in a bold and radical step, replaced the old performance management system of police targets with a single national target based on public confidence.
I know that you recognise the significance of this change, and the shift in relationship between Government, the police and the public that it represents.
This will be a hard-edged measure that focuses on local people’s views about whether the police and other agencies locally are tackling the crime and issues that matter to them.
It is not the only measure of successful policing, but it is the one that matters most to the public and that is why it is where I will be focussing my attention.
We also set out a range of commitments to free the police from bureacracy, real or imagined, and are delivering on our part of the green paper bargain by:
- cutting the red tape associated with recording crime,
- shortening the Stop and Account form
- appointing Jan Berry as the new independent Reducing Bureaucracy Advocate, to build on the progress we have made implementing Sir Ronnie’s policing recommendations, and to challenge both the service and Government to make further reductions in police bureaucracy
Empowering the public
We are commmitted to giving the public a greater say in the way their public services are run and in Communities in Control my colleague Hazel Blears set out radical plans to do this.
Crime and justice, the issue that matters most to the public, are no exception.
The public are our strongest weapon in tackling crime and I passionately believe that empowering them to get a good deal through the Policing Pledge, will play a powerful role in driving up the quality of policing in our communities.
For the first time the public will know the minimum standard of service they will receive including:
- the right to meet with their local team and others in the community to agree priorities and action to tackle them at least once a month
- that they are entitled to crime maps, information on specific crimes and information about what happened to those brought to justice in their neighbourhood
- that neighbourhood policing teams will spend at least 80% of their time visibly working on behalf of the public in their neighbourhood.
These standards will give the public what over 90% of them told the Casey Review they wanted - a consistent, transparent, accessible service that meets public needs and expectations, deals with local priorities and keeps them informed .
I was delighted this was announced by the service, through ACPO, and is now being driven forward with the same leadership – with all 43 Chief Constables signed up to deliver by the end of the year.
I was pleased to visit Essex yesterday to see the first force Pledge their commitment to their communities.
As part of our commitment to the public there will be also be a stronger and more independent HMIC, acting as a fierce champion of public’s interest.
The introduction of directly elected Crime and Policing Representatives to Police Authorities will provide people with a way to influence their local police force, something they do not currently know how to do.
I know that some have concerns about this approach but police authorities are not visible enough and over two thirds of people (68%) agree there should be a person elected by local people to hold the police to account on behalf of the community.
We are committed to greater accountability at neighbourhood level through neighbourhood policing.
It is right that we also provide a direct link to the public within police governance.
The proposals in the Green Paper open the door to a different relationship between Government and the police and in turn a different relationship between the police and the public they serve.
The importance of effective partnerships
Effective policing is just one part of the jigsaw. Today’s event rightly brings together colleagues from local authorities, probation, the courts and others – just as locally you meet at CDRP or LCJB.
Councils and the critical leadership role of councillors are key to ensuring that community priorities are heard and acted upon locally.
But the role of councils goes far beyond this. Local authorities provide vital services that like Friday/Saturday night activities for young people that are key to stopping crime and anti-social behaviour problems developing.
And it is with local authorities and colleagues in housing where many of the powers to respond to unacceptable and anti-social behaviour lie.
From littering to nuisance neighbours it is vital that councils work alongside others to use the full range of tools to crack down on bad behaviour. That includes tools like parenting orders and family intervention that make offenders take the help they need to change their ways.
Partnership working is central to effective local strategies to tackle crime but the public should not be expected to have to understand the system – police, local authorities and the CJS should be expected to understand the public.
The public are clear that they want ‘one dialogue’ with the authorities on crime and justice and that it is the police with whom they would choose to engage.
Across the country monthly neighbourhood policing meetings will be on offer to the public and it is critical that local authorities join forces with the police to bring these together with neighbourhood management and provide a ‘one stop shop’ for resolving local concerns from pot holes to drug dealing.
A visible justice system
So far I have focussed on tackling problems. Just as important to the public is that those who have damaged communities are punished and make good the harm they have caused.
A fair justice system that delivers both punishment and reform is a central part of any society.
I know those working in courts, in the CPS and in probation are committed to delivering those goals.
There are many good things about our justice system - but the public do not know about them, or have confidence in them. 90% of respondents to the Casey Review thought the public are not told enough about what happens to those who have committed a crime and broader confidence in the system is low.
Jack Straw has set out our belief that we must be straight with the public about what the system is for and reclaim the language we use to do that.
The system is there to deliver first punishment and then reform.
The public must also see and trust that each element of system is delivering those objectives.
There are some crimes for which prison is the only answer but community punishments shouldn't just be seen as alternatives to custody, but as tough, demanding, punishments in their own right.
Jack has already announced that we will be introducing high visibility jackets so that it is clear to everyone what work is being done by offenders as part of their punishement - making sure that justice is seen as well as done. We also expect that communities are given a say in what sorts of projects offenders work on.
Jack will be setting out in more detail over the coming months his department’s response to Louise's review and how we engage the community more in the justice system
While we have done a great deal more to improve the experiences of victims and witnesses directly affected by crime we know that there is more work to do to improve their experience and to give others the confidence to come forwared.
That is why the Prime Minister announced recently that we will be appointing a Victims Commissioner as soon as we can to champion the rights of victims.
Role of the Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Group
I have asked Louise to lead the new Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Group in the Home Office to develop a programme of action to bring to improve the public’s experience of the criminal justice system.
That programme will promote and highlight the Policing Pledge so that in communities across the country the public are clear about the standard of service they are entitled to, and where to turn if they are not getting that service.
It will also include the Community Crime Fighter programme. I have committed £5m to provide training and support to those in communities, like tenants and resident group leaders or Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators, who want to take a more proactive role and become an irrepressible local force for getting the best services for communities.
By the end of 2009 we’ll have trained around 3,600 Community Crime Fighters, enough for one for every neighbourhood policing team across the country.
And it will drive and promote visible Community Payback and greater public involvement in determining the kind of activity that offenders carry out.
Only yesterday I announced the names of 60 local authority areas that have signed up as ‘Pioneer Areas’ to go further, faster in delivering that programme. These Pioneers will be a further driving force for changing the relationship between public and criminal justice system.
Conclusion
Over the last ten years we have delivered real improvements for communities by reducing crime and tackling the issues that concern them, like anti-social behaviour. We have made the criminal justice system more effective, and more focussed on the needs of victims.
The public recognise those improvements but are clear that policing and the criminal justice system can feel remote and more interested in supporting offenders than punishing them or protecting communities.
That undermines public confidence in the system and chips away at the shared community spirit that is the basis for the system and which motivates the public to challenge bad behaviour when they see it or to be brave enough to report crime to the police or give evidence at court.
We cannot dismiss or ignore what the public are telling us.
The challenge to us as service leaders is to respond with bold leadership and radical action to refocus the system and build public confidence that services are on their side, that those who break the rules are punished, and that their communities are safe places to live.
