{"id":85932,"date":"2017-11-01T13:55:10","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T13:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=1d9a0f0ebba3c0b4e2c640314bc41df5"},"modified":"2017-11-01T13:55:10","modified_gmt":"2017-11-01T13:55:10","slug":"speech-home-secretarys-speech-to-the-apcc-and-npcc-partnership-summit-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=85932","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Home Secretary\u2019s speech to the APCC and NPCC partnership summit 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
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London is one of my favourite cities to travel through. I love the architecture, the history and the throng of the crowd. But today\u2019s route really made me stop and think. My journey started near Parliament, and from there I drove over Westminster Bridge, past Borough Market and through London Bridge, and this year, these places of course have taken on a new significance.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve witnessed terrorist attacks at these sites and Manchester Arena, Finsbury Park and Parsons Green. On each occasion police officers responded with exemplary skill and bravery \u2013 working long hours and putting themselves in harm\u2019s way to keep others safe. We will never forget the heroism of PC Keith Palmer who was fatally stabbed while defending our Parliament.<\/p>\n

So today I want to start by saying thank you to all of you who have played your part and I know it\u2019s been utterly exhausting.<\/p>\n

I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my deepest condolences and sympathy to the victims and families who have lost loved ones in New York in such a vile and cowardly act of terrorism. Our thoughts are with you at this most difficult time.<\/p>\n

The day after the Parsons Green attack, I met officers who had been part of the response team. I could see what a strain events like this put on emergency services. And in Manchester, I met the team of detectives who are working tirelessly to investigate the Manchester Arena bombing. It\u2019s true that in all jobs there are bad days at work, but there\u2019s few which involve confronting terrorists.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not here today to talk about terrorism \u2013 horrific as it is. What I want to talk about is local policing and how best to fight the day to day crime which blights people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

The Crime Survey for England and Wales, acknowledged by the ONS as our best measure of long term crime trends, shows there\u2019s been a substantial 9% fall in crime over the last year \u2013 and a 38% drop since 2010. This has led to more confidence in the police with latest figures showing that 78% of people now have confidence in their local force.<\/p>\n

But we also know that police-recorded crime had gone up by 13% this past year. This reflects continued improvements in crime recording and an increased willingness of victims to report crime. However, it also reflects a genuine increase in some specific crime types including homicides, knife crime and firearms offences.<\/p>\n

Types of crime which ruin lives and cause irrevocable damage to families and communities.<\/p>\n

We all need to account for, and find solutions to, these worrying rises.<\/p>\n

But behind these national rises are huge local variations.<\/p>\n

Take the example of police recorded knife crime for instance. While in the year to June 2017 it was up by 36% in the Metropolitan Police area, it was down 16% in the Greater Manchester Police Force area. During this same period, the East of England has seen a 19% drop in homicides, whereas the East Midlands has seen a 35% rise.<\/p>\n

Local policing can make a difference. You\u2019re probably tired of Conservative Home Secretaries standing here and saying the Home Office doesn\u2019t run policing.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s crucial. You are the ones who are responsible for cutting crime and delivering an effective and efficient police service for your local area.<\/p>\n

Of course, part of being a Police and Crime Commissioner is about speaking to the government about resourcing. But it mustn\u2019t just be about lobbying the government for money.<\/p>\n

It needs to be about cutting crime, delivering on the priorities you were elected on and being held to account by local people in your area when you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

So when crime statistics go up, I don\u2019t just want to see you reaching for a pen to write a press release asking for more money from the government. I want you to tell your local communities and the victims in your area what your plan is to make them safer.<\/p>\n

Because policing can make a difference.<\/p>\n

Just as we at the Home Office will set out what we are doing to make the country safer.<\/p>\n

Because we do still have a role to play. Giving you the powers you need. Supporting you when you need to be supported. Challenging you when you need to be challenged. And yes, in making sure you have the right resources.<\/p>\n

When it comes to powers, I hope you, as police leaders, feel we are responding to the recent changes in crime. Because as crime changes, the powers you need are changing too.<\/p>\n

Following the worrying recent rise in violent crimes, we\u2019re taking action. We\u2019ve recently published our consultation outlining how we\u2019re intending to crack down on violent crime and offensive weapons. This will be complemented next year by the publication of a new strategy to combat serious violence.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to prevent children purchasing knives online and we\u2019re going to stop people carrying acid in public if they don\u2019t have a good reason. And as I outlined at the Conservative Party Conference, the sale of acids to under 18s will be banned and the public sale of sulphuric acid dramatically limited.<\/p>\n

Attacks with knives and acid ruin lives. Confidence and happiness can be lost forever.<\/p>\n

We need to make sure that the thugs who think of attempting these horrible acts are stopped before they are able to realise their hateful ambitions \u2013 and that they face the full force of the law.<\/p>\n

And on stop and search.<\/p>\n

I know there are those who think it\u2019s a controversial tactic, and I know it has been badly used in the past.<\/p>\n

But figures show that stop and search reforms are working. The stop-to-arrest rate has risen and once again is the highest on record. The new data published as part of the \u2018best use of stop and search\u2019 scheme shows that around two-thirds of searches result in some kind of police action.<\/p>\n

It is my belief that stop and search is a useful tool for the police, especially to target rising levels of knife crime and acid attacks, and that you should have the confidence to use it where necessary. My message to you today is that officers who use stop and search appropriately will always have my full support.<\/p>\n

However, let me be quite clear. No-one should be stopped because of their race or ethnicity. Locally, where there are racial disparities in the use of stop and search, chief constables will still need to explain these.<\/p>\n

Because if stop and search is misused, then it is counter-productive and, more importantly, it damages confidence in policing.<\/p>\n

And when you tell me you need additional powers, it\u2019s my job to listen carefully.<\/p>\n

You said that officers have concerns about pursuing and apprehending moped-riding criminals. You explained that some officers worry about their legal position when pursuing suspected offenders when they\u2019re on mopeds or scooters.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019ve listened and we\u2019re taking action. We\u2019re reviewing the law and practice regarding police pursuits. We want to make sure officers feel they have the legal protection they need to go after moped and scooter gangs. And I can announce today that we will finish the review early next year.<\/p>\n

My officials at the Home Office are working with the police, including the Police Federation as well as the IPCC<\/abbr> and other criminal justice agencies, to do this. But I can say today that there will be change. Officers have said they don\u2019t feel confident they will be supported if they pursue a criminal on a moped. These criminals terrorise our streets, intimidating people into giving over their phones or wallets and leaving many too scared to walk outside their front doors. I don\u2019t want any officer to feel that they cannot pursue someone like this because they have taken their helmet off. We will always support the police and officers, not the criminals who commit these awful crimes on our streets.<\/p>\n

But the job of the Home Office isn\u2019t just to give new powers; it\u2019s also about providing support, constructive challenge and ideas.<\/p>\n

Because police reform is not an objective which left the Home Office when Theresa May did. And whilst policing is in a much better state now than it was in 2010, there\u2019s still work to be done and that work is easier to do when we collaborate.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m really pleased that in the policing vision 2025, you\u2019ve set out a transformative programme for yourselves. My department is committed \u2013 and stands ready \u2013 to do whatever it takes to support you with these plans. This includes making our expertise and resources available to the Police Reform and Transformation Board where helpful, for example to help them address commercial, procurement or programme management issues.<\/p>\n

We also want to help you further professionalise the sector. That\u2019s why we continue to work alongside the College of Policing. We are putting in place multiple reforms in this area, such as the Policing Education Qualifications Framework, to ensure that policing continues to develop its existing workforce and attract the best recruits. We are also establishing the Licence to Practise Scheme to give those who operate in the most high risk and high harm areas the correct skills and training to do so.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re also supporting those of you in the audience who want to deliver greater efficiency and effectiveness through closer collaboration between emergency services, to benefit your local communities. We\u2019ve legislated to enable PCCs to take on responsibility for fire and rescue services locally, where a local case is made, and to place a statutory duty on all three emergency services to collaborate. But you are in charge and you can decide where the opportunities lie for your area and your communities.<\/p>\n

I am delighted that on the 1st October, Roger Hirst in Essex formally became the country\u2019s first Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner, and I know PCCs elsewhere have, or are considering, submitting their own proposals.<\/p>\n

And look, as I\u2019ve said, I know that policing can be a stressful business. You work long hours, you deal with people at their worst and no doubt this has an impact on physical and mental health. That\u2019s why in July I announced \u00a37.5 million of funding to pilot and \u2013 if it is successful \u2013 fund a dedicated national police welfare service to help those who need it.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ll tell you something that we won\u2019t stand for. Officers being attacked, abused and spat at while they do their jobs. This sort of behaviour is unacceptable. That\u2019s why we are supporting new legislation which will send a clear message that we will not tolerate attacks on emergency workers and we will ensure that those who are violent are punished.<\/p>\n

You protect us and it\u2019s right that we protect you.<\/p>\n

So the Home Office\u2019s job, and my job, is to give you the powers you need to keep us safe.<\/p>\n

We will use our coordinating role to support and, where necessary, challenge you.<\/p>\n

And, yes, it\u2019s our job to provide you with the right level of funding and resources.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re investing \u00a31.9 billion in cyber security which will contribute to relieving pressures on individual forces tackling online and cyber enabled crime.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re providing funding to bolster counter-terrorism policing in the wake of this year\u2019s terror attacks. For example, we\u2019re putting an extra \u00a324 million into counter-terrorism policing in addition to the \u00a3707 million already announced.<\/p>\n

And since 2015 we\u2019ve protected the total amount of spending that goes to policing in line with inflation. That means that overall police spending is increasing from \u00a311.4 billion in 2015 to 2016 to around \u00a312.3 billion in 2019 to 2020.<\/p>\n

Within that we\u2019re spending hundreds of millions of pounds to ensure you continue to reform and become more productive.<\/p>\n

And today I am pleased to announce the award of \u00a327.45 million police transformation funding to a further ten projects which includes:<\/p>\n