ACPO comment on police targets
Monday, 18 August, 2008
Speaking on Radio 4's Today Programme (15 August), ACPO President Chief Constable Ken Jones said:
"Top-down government targets delivered benefits when first introduced to policing, but over time the burdens have come to outweigh some of the benefits.
For some years now ACPO have been pointing to the unintended yet unhelpful impact of top-down central targets. No two neighbourhoods are the same so we need local targets to reflect the local needs of that area. Successful policing looks different to everyone.
If neighbourhood policing teams are to deliver for local people then they need the space to respond to local priorities, set by and with those they work to protect.
"To its credit, the Government recognises this. Sir Ronnie Flanagan's review earlier this year identified the need to reduce the burden of over-regulation. The Home Office has recently facilitated four pilot sites with ACPO aimed at cutting bureaucracy - so things are moving in the right direction.
"The police service is delivering record productivity, with more criminals sanctioned for breaking the law than ever before, numerous lives saved through terrorist plots foiled and a sustained rise in public confidence national and locally."
