The government has pledged to bring common sense back to policing and have more officers patrolling the streets rather than meeting targets and filling out paperwork.
Speaking at the Association of Chief Police Officers conference, Home Office Secretary Theresa May announced that she will be scrapping the Policing Pledge and 60% Confidence Goal introduced by Labour. She hopes that the removal of the Pledge, which was introduced to provide a national minimum standard of policing, will free up forces so they can spend more time on the streets.
“I know that some officers like the policing pledge,” said May. “And some, I’m sure, like the comfort of knowing they have ticked boxes. But targets don’t fight crime; targets hinder the fight against crime. In scrapping the confidence target and the policing pledge, I couldn’t be any clearer about your mission. It isn’t a 30-point plan; it is to cut crime: no more, and no less.”
The Confidence Goal was introduced as a replacement to local policing targets with an aim of having a 60% public confidence rating by 2012.
Home Office Minister Nick Herbert also stated during Commons question time that he wanted to cut the bureaucracy imposed by the Labour government that led to more time spent filling out forms rather than on patrol.
“Every Labour Home Secretary promised to cut bureaucracy but the police still spend more time on paperwork,” he said. “We are determined to deal with the central targets that bedevil policing and ensure we can do all that we can to protect the frontline.”
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