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| Version 6 | Version 7 |
|---|---|
| Tackle fear of crime, says Brown | Tackle fear of crime, says Brown |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged police forces to keep officers on the beat in an effort to reduce the public's "fear of crime". | Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged police forces to keep officers on the beat in an effort to reduce the public's "fear of crime". |
| He said it was not "acceptable" to miss the Home Office target of having neighbourhood Pcs spend at least four fifths of their time on patrol. | He said it was not "acceptable" to miss the Home Office target of having neighbourhood Pcs spend at least four fifths of their time on patrol. |
| Mr Brown also told councils and police forces not to cut budgets for front-line law enforcement. | Mr Brown also told councils and police forces not to cut budgets for front-line law enforcement. |
| In a speech, he disputed the Tories' claim that Britain was "broken". | |
| The prime minister's comments come as the main political parties step up their campaigning ahead of the general election, which is expected to be held on 6 May. | The prime minister's comments come as the main political parties step up their campaigning ahead of the general election, which is expected to be held on 6 May. |
| 'No reason' | 'No reason' |
| The government says Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) should spend most of their time on patrol, respond to non-emergency inquiries within 24 hours and hold monthly public meetings. | The government says Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) should spend most of their time on patrol, respond to non-emergency inquiries within 24 hours and hold monthly public meetings. |
| In a speech in Reading, Mr Brown said the risk of being a victim of crime was the lowest since the British Crime Survey started in the early 1980s. | In a speech in Reading, Mr Brown said the risk of being a victim of crime was the lowest since the British Crime Survey started in the early 1980s. |
| We don't tackle the fear of crime cultivating it, by claiming our society is broken Gordon Brown | We don't tackle the fear of crime cultivating it, by claiming our society is broken Gordon Brown |
| But he added: "We must understand the fear of crime and what's behind it. | But he added: "We must understand the fear of crime and what's behind it. |
| "Fear of crime is higher when people don't see police on the streets, when they don't believe that police are able to deal with things that matter to them." | "Fear of crime is higher when people don't see police on the streets, when they don't believe that police are able to deal with things that matter to them." |
| Mr Brown confirmed plans for a new non-emergency number to inform police about anti-social behaviour. | Mr Brown confirmed plans for a new non-emergency number to inform police about anti-social behaviour. |
| He also said there would be an expectation that anyone breaching an anti-social behaviour order would be prosecuted, and that the parents of those under 16 would also face action. | |
| People would be able to petition online for "extraordinary" meetings with police chiefs, to raise matters of concerns, he added. | People would be able to petition online for "extraordinary" meetings with police chiefs, to raise matters of concerns, he added. |
| 'Not The Wire' | 'Not The Wire' |
| In his speech to the Conservatives' spring conference on Sunday, party leader David Cameron reiterated his claim that Britain was a "broken society", citing family breakdown rates, violent crime statistics and teenage pregnancy rates. | |
| But Mr Brown said: "We don't tackle the fear of crime cultivating it, by claiming our society is broken... Sometimes as damaging as the fear of crime is the crime of fear." | But Mr Brown said: "We don't tackle the fear of crime cultivating it, by claiming our society is broken... Sometimes as damaging as the fear of crime is the crime of fear." |
| He criticised shadow home secretary Chris Grayling's comparison of Britain with US TV show The Wire - pointing out that the city of Baltimore, where it is set, experiences almost 200 fatal shootings a year from a population of around two-thirds of a million, compared with 39 in the whole of England and Wales last year. | He criticised shadow home secretary Chris Grayling's comparison of Britain with US TV show The Wire - pointing out that the city of Baltimore, where it is set, experiences almost 200 fatal shootings a year from a population of around two-thirds of a million, compared with 39 in the whole of England and Wales last year. |
| Labour and the Conservatives have indulged in a sentencing arms race in a desperate attempt to look tough Chris Huhne, Lib Dems | |
| He also urged councils and police forces not to cut funding for police patrols, saying: "At the pre-Budget report, we made the commitment to protect central government funding for front-line policing - because I know how important our police are to people, and so there will be no reason based on central government funding why police or PCSO numbers should fall. | He also urged councils and police forces not to cut funding for police patrols, saying: "At the pre-Budget report, we made the commitment to protect central government funding for front-line policing - because I know how important our police are to people, and so there will be no reason based on central government funding why police or PCSO numbers should fall. |
| "But police funding in this country has always and rightly been part national and part local. | "But police funding in this country has always and rightly been part national and part local. |
| "So my challenge to local authorities and police authorities around the country is to match our commitment to protecting front-line policing - or else explain to their communities why they are not prepared to do so." | "So my challenge to local authorities and police authorities around the country is to match our commitment to protecting front-line policing - or else explain to their communities why they are not prepared to do so." |
| But Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "Labour has been just as guilty as the Tories of posturing on penalties and peddling fear. | |
| "Labour and the Conservatives have indulged in a sentencing arms race in a desperate attempt to look tough, rather than back more police officers which is the best way to cut crime." | |
| In other pre-election campaigning on Monday, shadow schools secretary Michael Gove has promised that a Tory government would, within days of taking office, introduce legislation to give schools greater freedom over the curriculum, staff and discipline. | |
| Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg stressed the importance of early years education in the home and pledge £2.5bn to help cut class sizes. |