Communities 'at risk' from police cuts

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Lord Hunt of Kings Heath calls on the government to give the public a "clear and informed vision" of the future of policing.

The riots in August have raised many searching questions about the challenges we face as a society with a significant number of people causing havoc in the streets, and resorting to intimidation and sometimes violence.

But alongside this we saw many communities act together to prevent damage being done and helping each other out.

Inevitably the effectiveness of our police during these troubles is coming under the spotlight. But we shouldn't forget the many brave police officers who risked their lives during the riots.

They deserve a clear and informed vision of the future of policing. Unfortunately, they are getting anything but that from the government.

Instead of support, they face hostility and a ramshackle plan to politicise forces with elected Police Commissioners and severe cuts in budgets.

And what is the government doing? They are driving ahead with 20 per cent cuts to police budgets, which mean losing 16,000 experienced police officers – inevitably putting communities at risk.

These cuts are heavily front-loaded, with two-thirds of the cut happening in the first two years of this spending review period. In contrast, Labour's plan of 12 per cent cuts over the course of a Parliament was considered deliverable by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary.

Under Labour crime fell by over 40 per cent, and this record is now under threat, with the latest figures showing a worrying rise in crime. We also face the challenge of the Olympics.

The government's own Independent Riots Communities and Victims Panel has stated in its interim report that –

"The scale of the Olympics already presents a significant policing challenge for next summer. It will be essential to have enough emergency services personnel to deal with riots at the same time, if necessary."

Because of the lack of government leadership and vision, we launched last week an independent review into policing. The Review Commission comprises experts from a range of backgrounds, including police figures from the UK and the US, academics and judges, and is chaired by crossbench peer and former Metropolitan Police commissioner, Lord Stevens.

The Commission's mandate is to do an independent, first-principles review of policing – to set out the role and purpose of policing in our communities for the 21st century and the reforms that are needed to deliver it.

In the meantime, the government needs to recognise that its grant to police authorities for 2012/13 is simply not good enough.

Philip Hunt is the shadow deputy leader of the House of Lords. He was raised to the peerage in 1997 and sits on the Labour benches.