Police must be more locally accountable, says London Councils

Giving residents more of a say in setting the priorities of their local police forces will help foster greater reassurance among local communities, says London Councils' Executive Member for Crime and Public Protection Cllr Ian Clement.

The call follows a speech today (Tuesday) by the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, Ken Jones, in which he called for a fundamental and independent review of the long-term direction of the police service.

London Councils believes that any review should ensure that the police are made more locally accountable and seek to develop more partnerships with councils and other local agencies.

While the total number of crimes committed in London fell by 7 per cent in 2006, more than half of Londoners say that crime is one of their top three concerns.

Cllr Clement said:

"The police do a very difficult job, but any review needs to ensure that local people are given more of say about the priorities of their local police force.

"This will ensure that people recognise the role the police play in their communities and help change the perceptions of those sections of the community who feel that they are being unfairly targeted by the police.

"Joint working between the police, councils and other agencies will be especially important in London with the threat of terrorism, the run up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 and the need to promote community cohesion.

"But police forces also need to be encouraged to work more closely with their local councils, including when appointing a borough commander. The current high turnover in senior police officers can hamper the development of good borough-police relations.

"The need for closer working between agencies is clearly demonstrated through the recent series of high profile youth crimes in London. Young people are increasingly becoming both the victims and the perpetrators of specific types of crime, including knife and gun crime, gang violence and robbery.

 "London's concentration of deprivation means that inner London children are more at risk of becoming involved in criminal activity and of becoming victims of crime. But these problems are not just confined to central London they are also of growing concerns in the suburbs. There is a lot of pressure on central government to act on this issue, but the real solutions must lie at a local level.

"Councils, working in partnership with local communities and police, can ensure that we develop effective and measured responses to crime in London."

The President of Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), Ken Jones made his comments to the ACPO annual conference in Manchester today (Tuesday 19 June 2007).

Fifty two per cent of Londoners said that crime was one of their top three personal concerns in the 2006/07 Survey of Londoners carried out on behalf of London Councils.

Any member of the media wanting more information should contact Stewart Henderson on 020 7934 9620 or at stewart.henderson@londoncouncils.gov.uk