This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/29/police-focus-crime-catching-criminals
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Police 'should focus more on preventing crime than catching criminals' | Police 'should focus more on preventing crime than catching criminals' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The police should focus more on preventing crime than on catching criminals, the new chief inspector of constabulary for England and Wales has said. | The police should focus more on preventing crime than on catching criminals, the new chief inspector of constabulary for England and Wales has said. |
| Tom Winsor says that too many officers think their primary purpose is to catch criminals and should spend more time on targeting would-be offenders and potential crime hotspots to save money. | Tom Winsor says that too many officers think their primary purpose is to catch criminals and should spend more time on targeting would-be offenders and potential crime hotspots to save money. |
| His intervention appears to clash with the stated policy of the home secretary, Theresa May, that the only police target she is interested in is catching criminals. | His intervention appears to clash with the stated policy of the home secretary, Theresa May, that the only police target she is interested in is catching criminals. |
| Winsor, a lawyer and the former rail regulator, who was a controversial choice by May for the job, is the first HMIC not to have been a police officer. | Winsor, a lawyer and the former rail regulator, who was a controversial choice by May for the job, is the first HMIC not to have been a police officer. |
| He has spent the first six months of the job listening to the views of officers and now says he is ready to set out his ideas. | He has spent the first six months of the job listening to the views of officers and now says he is ready to set out his ideas. |
| "The purpose of the police is to prevent crime taking place and to keep people safe," said Winsor. "Sir Robert Peel, who founded the modern police service in 1829, said the primary test is the absence of crime and disorder." | "The purpose of the police is to prevent crime taking place and to keep people safe," said Winsor. "Sir Robert Peel, who founded the modern police service in 1829, said the primary test is the absence of crime and disorder." |
| Winsor told the BBC in advance of his speech at the Royal United Services Institute that all the considerable costs incurred by the criminal justice system were downstream of crime having been committed. "Prevention is far better than cure. If we can prevent an offence taking place, we can prevent fewer victims which is critical and also we save all of those costs," he said. | Winsor told the BBC in advance of his speech at the Royal United Services Institute that all the considerable costs incurred by the criminal justice system were downstream of crime having been committed. "Prevention is far better than cure. If we can prevent an offence taking place, we can prevent fewer victims which is critical and also we save all of those costs," he said. |
| The chief inspector denied that his emphasis on crime prevention clashed with May's single focus on catching criminals: "The home secretary has said the only measure she is interested in is the absence of crime, which is the pretty much the same as that set out by Sir Robert Peel," he responded. | |
| guardian.co.uk today is our daily snapshot of the top news stories, sent to your inbox at 8am | guardian.co.uk today is our daily snapshot of the top news stories, sent to your inbox at 8am |