Dame Nia Griffith, Labour MP for Llanelli, has today said major new policing reforms announced by the Home Secretary, will help tackle crime, speed up police response times and rebuild neighbourhood policing after years of failure under the last Conservative UK Government.
The reforms will force police forces to respond faster to emergencies – with officers expected to reach serious incidents within 15 minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in rural communities, and 999 calls answered within 10 seconds. Forces that fail to meet these standards will face direct intervention, including specialist turnaround teams sent in by the Home Secretary.
Alongside faster response times, the reforms will modernise policing for the digital age. With around 90 per cent of crime now leaving a digital footprint, police forces across England and Wales will recruit more crime analysts, cyber investigators and digital forensics specialists to help track down fraudsters, online abusers and organised criminal networks.
Dame Nia said the changes have the potential to make a real difference to communities across her Llanelli constituency that have been left waiting too long for help.
New analysis shows that under the last Conservative government, street crime surged – with shoplifting up by around 70 per cent and theft from the person rising by around 60 per cent – while neighbourhood policing collapsed. By the time the Tories left office, there were more than 18,000 fewer officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles than a decade earlier, and more than half of the public said they never see a police officer on patrol.
Alongside faster response times, Labour’s reforms will slash the red tape and bureaucracy that has kept officers stuck behind desks, while giving police leaders flexibility to build a workforce with the right mix of frontline officers and specialist expertise. This will put more officers back on the streets, ensuring forces have the skills needed to uncover vital evidence on phones and laptops and secure more convictions for serious crimes such as fraud, child sexual abuse and organised crime.
Every council ward will have named, contactable neighbourhood officers, with residents guaranteed a response to local concerns within 72 hours. 14 Local forces will also be held to clear national standards on neighbourhood policing levels, response times and crime outcomes, with results published so the public can see how their force is performing.
At the same time, the creation of a new National Police Service will take responsibility for tackling serious and organised crime such as terrorism and fraud – freeing up local officers to focus on everyday crimes like shoplifting, antisocial behaviour and street theft.
The reforms form part of the biggest overhaul of policing in two centuries, set out in the Home Secretary’s White Paper, “From local to national: a new model for policing”. They include the introduction of a Licence to Practise for police officers, raising standards and ensuring officers receive the training, development and support needed to meet the demands of modern policing.
Dame Nia Griffith, Member of Parliament for Llanelli, said:
“For far too long, the last Tory Government seemed to just accept years of failure and rising crime.
In contrast Labour is taking this tough, practical action – restoring visible neighbourhood policing, speeding up police responses, raising standards and holding forces to account has the potential to radically change our communities here in Llanelli.
“I regularly hear the same old story from many of my constituents that when it comes to street crimes, anti-social behaviour and so much else, too often there seem to be no consequences. People are reporting crimes and then waiting hours or even days for a response. By the time the police arrive, the perpetrators are long gone. This simply has to end – and end now.
Investing in neighbourhood policing and scaling up patrols in communities to catch more criminals and cutting crime with our local officers better equipped to make sure people feel safe again going about their daily lives has to be the way forward.”