argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): When my hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse), who was a distinguished deputy Mayor for policing here in London, referred to the 10% figure that the right hon. Gentleman had quoted, the right hon. Gentleman said that there was far too much spin from the Government side of the House. The figure actually came from a Labour party press release where he said: "Of course, savings can be found. The police say five to ten per cent over the Parliament is just about do-able" He accepted 10%, so why is he now so worried about cuts in funding?
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Timothy Paul Loughton (Conservative, Centre-right): I have listened carefully to the shadow Home Secretary for 22 minutes, and his entire assessment of how the police are doing is based on the amount of money that the Government have given them. There has been absolutely no mention of smarter policing, better procurement or better use of technology. We heard yesterday in the Home Affairs Committee from a former Labour Member of this House and former Minister who is now the PCC for Merseyside. She has managed to halve the budget for her office compared with that of the former police authority, and all that money has gone into front-line policing. There is more to policing than the amount of money that the police receive from central office.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Richard Quentin Fuller (Conservative, Centre-right): On the point about additional funding for policing to plug some of the gaps that the right hon. Gentleman has talked about, as he knows, the reductions are over five years, during which time some PCCs may take control of their fire authorities. Does he believe that it would be right or wrong for PCCs to use fire budgets to plug perceived gaps in their police budgets?
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): I recognise the issue that the right hon. Gentleman raises, but will he accept that we cannot patrol to prevent online crime? The solution to online crime is not throwing bodies at it but about throwing technology at it, which can be done either relatively cheaply or much more efficiently.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the shadow Home Secretary for giving way to me a second time. He is making an argument about the importance of accuracy in reporting figures. May I therefore ask him why, in relation to a Labour party press release on crime statistics issued in January, under the heading "crime up 6 per cent, the biggest increase", the UK Statistics Authority wrote to my hon. Friend the Member for Braintree (James Cleverly) to say that "by focusing on police recorded crime without appropriate caveats, and omitting evidence from the more complete and reliable source (for most violent crimes) of the Crime Survey for England and Wales, it may have given, in parts, a misleading impression" Will the right hon. Gentleman now apologise?
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me start by paying tribute to the police, the fire and rescue services and all those who attended the incident at Didcot power station yesterday. In doing so, they showed the courage and professionalism that police officers and firefighters show day in and day out The right hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) called for a debate on police funding, crime and community safety. I am delighted that he did so and I will set out the steps the Government are taking to continue cutting crime, keep people safe from terrorism and reform our police and emergency services in a moment, but before I do, I would like to address the motion before us. He said that he called this debate to expose "Tory lies", but the truth is that the motion contains nothing but inaccuracies and misleading statements. I will address each in turn The right hon. Gentleman says in the motion that "police budgets will fall by between nine and ten per cent over four years in real terms" That is, frankly, not true. As the Chancellor set out in the autumn statement, overall police spending will increase from nearly £11.4 billion this year to £12.3 billion at the end of the spending review period—an increase of just under 8% or £900 million in cash terms. There will be protection in real terms over the course of this Parliament if police and crime commissioners maximise their precept. The funding for individual PCC budgets, which includes funding from central Government and local taxpayers through the precept, will be protected in cash terms. We will provide substantial additional investment over the period in transformation funding to improve police capabilities to deal with modern threats such as terrorist firearms attacks, cybercrime and other emerging threats When the right hon. Gentleman calls on the Government to provide real-terms protection for the policing budget, I can happily tell Members that we have done just that. That is in stark contrast to the right hon. Gentleman himself. Earlier, I referred to a Labour party press release, but addressing the Labour party conference last year the shadow Home Secretary made it clear that he would support cutting the police by "5 per cent to 10 per cent over the Parliament" It is one thing to criticise the Government for imaginary spending cuts, but it is quite another to do so after arguing for significant spending reductions The right hon. Gentleman also argues that police forces might make further reductions to the number of police officers and staff. Notwithstanding the point that police budgets have been protected for the spending review period, decisions on the size and composition of a police force’s workforce are for individual chief officers working closely with their police and crime commissioners. The lesson of the past five years is that what matters is how officers are deployed, not how many of them there are.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The point that I am making is very simple and I am happy to repeat it to the hon. Lady. The Labour party consistently looks at the amount of money that is spent and at the number of police officers, but what we need to look at is how money is being spent and how the officers are being deployed. It is not just me who is saying that. Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary has made it clear that there is no simple link between officer numbers and crime levels, between numbers and the visibility of police in the community or between numbers and the quality of service provided.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): When the right hon. Gentleman looks at figures for overall police spending he needs to look at figures for overall police spending, because they include the money being spent. He was very careful. He said when he looked at his figures that he was not looking, for example, at the extra grants for London through the capital city grant. He was not looking at the money being spent on the emergency services mobile scheme that we are introducing to replace Airwave. He needs to look more carefully at the figures that he is citing.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Richard Quentin Fuller (Conservative, Centre-right): The Home Secretary makes a very good point; this is not just about the total money but about how money is spent. The problems on the Labour side also come down to a local level, not just a national level. Does not my right hon. Friend agree that although we understand the problems with financing policing in Bedfordshire, it undermines the case when the PCC for Bedfordshire has one of the highest proportions of commissioned police officers in staff roles rather than on the frontline and when he does not spend the budget allocated to him, for example, on counter-terrorism?
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with my hon. Friend, and it is very striking when we look at the figures for Bedfordshire how many officers are not on the frontline but in the back office. That is one of the things that most police forces have changed over the years, but there is clearly more scope for that to take place in Bedfordshire. Under a different police and crime commissioner—a Conservative police and crime commissioner—I am sure that it would.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Julian Carlton Knight (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to pick up on that point about the financial management of Labour police and crime commissioners. In the West Midlands, for instance, the Labour PCC, David Jamieson, has reported £100 million in reserves, yet he chose before the spending review to fire huge swathes of vital PCSOs in a highly politicised move and then had to reverse the decision after the spending review. The message is, "If you want to play politics with the police, vote Labour."
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman is trying to make an argument where there is none, because he knows full well the processes of determining the comprehensive spending review, and the discussions that take place between Departments and the Treasury that result in the final figures that the Chancellor announces. In truth, the Labour party decided what its line was going to be on police funding, and when the Chancellor stood up and protected police budgets, instead of sensibly changing that line, it decided to carry on with it anyway because one should never let the facts get in the way of an argument The right hon. Gentleman argues that the inclusion of cybercrime in the crime statistics will show that crime has doubled, but the uncomfortable truth for the Opposition is that crime has fallen by more than a quarter since 2010, according to the independent crime survey for England and Wales. That is one of the most authoritative surveys of victims of crime in the world. It is administered by the independent Office for National Statistics, which captures the experience of more than 30,000 households. The survey dates back to the 1980s and shows that crime is at historic lows. People in this country are as safe as they have ever been The ONS has been clear: its preliminary estimate on fraud and cybercrime does not mean that crime is rising, and certainly not that it has doubled. In fact, it confirms what we have long known, which is that such crimes have for too long gone unreported and unrecorded. That is why the Government welcome the work of the ONS to capture those crimes The right hon. Gentleman notes the heightened threat of a terrorist attack and the important role of the police in preventing such attacks, and I will go on to speak about that.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Macroeconomics
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): Is my right hon. Friend surprised, as I am, that on the one hand Labour Members seem to be arguing that the Chancellor protected funding because of their campaign, and on the other hand that funding is going down?
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right—they cannot have it all ways, and that is exactly what the shadow Home Secretary is trying to argue. He is saying, "Isn’t it great? It is all because of us that police funding is protected—ooh, whoops, no, we think it’s going down." He really needs to get his own lines straight before he stands up and speaks in this Chamber.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to speak about terrorism so I hope the hon. Gentleman will excuse me. The threat from terrorism is real and growing. As I said when I was in Washington last week, the threat from Daesh requires us to act with greater urgency and joint resolve, both at home and internationally, more than ever before. An effective counter-terrorism response relies on the police and agencies working together with the right tools, capabilities and powers. That is precisely why the Government took the decision to protect overall police spending in real terms last autumn, why they have always supported neighbourhood policing as part of that joint effort, and why they protected counter-terrorism policing budgets and increased funding for the security and intelligence agencies. We are introducing vital legislation to ensure that the police and agencies continue to investigate crime and protect our national security in the digital age.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): There are two aspects to this. There is the request that Cardiff has made for capital city grant, in the same way that London receives capital city grant. This has been looked at very carefully on a number of occasions. In overall policing terms, London has specific responsibilities and issues to address that are not reflected in Cardiff as a capital city. Separately, there is the whole question of counter-terrorism policing. The counter-terrorism policing budget is separate. We have been able to not just protect it but increase it for such issues as the provision of firearms officers. I recognise the points the hon. Gentleman has made to me and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice about ensuring that proper counter-terrorism resource is available in the Cardiff area for policing.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I will make two points to the hon. Lady. First, the percentage of officers in front-line duties has actually increased, I think from 89% to 92%, under this Government. Secondly, if we compare the actions of Labour police and crime commissioners with Conservative police and crime commissioners, Conservative PCCs have largely protected their local police officers, whereas Labour PCCs have been cutting them more significantly. I therefore suggest she looks at that
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry, but I thought the hon. Lady said "invigilantism". It is very clear—HMIC is very clear about it—that the police have the resources they need to do the job they need to keep people safe and secure. They are doing that on a day-to-day basis across the country. Public perceptions of crime are improving nationally and locally. Fewer people are worried about burglary, and more people believe the criminal justice system is effective.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sorry, but I am conscious that there is only limited time for this debate, and I am coming to the end of my remarks As I said earlier, the proportion of officers on the front line has increased from 89% to 92% since March 2010. That has been achieved at the same time as we have set about the urgent task of repairing the country’s finances, reducing the deficit and ensuring the long-term health of our economy. That task is not yet finished. As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor made clear in the autumn statement, over the course of the last Parliament, we made huge progress in rescuing the economy. Now we must rebuild it and we must protect our economic security in an uncertain world. We must also ensure that we have the resources to respond to the growing and emerging threats that we face. We have done that by protecting police funding in real terms, once the local precept is taken into account This is not the first time that the right hon. Member for Leigh and his party have made tall claims about crime and public safety. In 2011, the right hon. Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) argued in this House that our reforms would lead to "a perfect storm" of higher crime, lower confidence and less visible policing. None of those predictions came true In 2012, the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Jack Dromey) said that the model of community policing was being denigrated by the Government. In fact, we have always supported a model of community policing, and we put PCCs in place to ensure that local priorities were taken into account. As I have just indicated, Conservative PCCs are doing a better job in that area than Labour PCCs are In 2013, the Labour party’s review of policing, led by Lord Stevens, warned of "a danger of the police being forced to retreat to a discredited model of reactive policing" As I have said, however, a greater proportion of officers are now on the front line. In 2014, the then Leader of the Opposition claimed that abolishing direct democracy through police and crime commissioners was a "sensible" saving. Yet in three months’ time, the Labour party will stand candidates in elections for every single police force area in the country. In 2015, the Labour crime and justice manifesto suggested that "a further 30,000 police officers could be lost after the election under the Conservatives" HMIC has been clear, however, that every force has the resources it needs to deliver effective policing and to continue cutting crime.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): No. I am sorry, but we have been through this, and I am not going to go over it again for the right hon. Gentleman At every release of the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales, the Labour party has ignored the most authoritative measure for crime in this country, because it does not show what it wants it to show. As I said earlier, Labour decided what its campaign would be six years ago, and they have doggedly stuck to it ever since. They operate on the basis that if you say something enough times, people will believe it, regardless of the facts—[Interruption.] They ignore the evidence that points to lower crime, safer communities and police reform that is working. [Interruption.]
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Neil Coyle) may well be able to catch the eye of the Chair if he wishes to speak later There is an important debate to be had on policing in this country. It is a debate on how best to keep individuals, communities and businesses safe from crime, how best to ensure that the police can adapt to changing crime and emerging threats, and how best to drive better collaboration, joint working and local accountability in law enforcement and wider public services. I urge the shadow Home Secretary to focus on those issues, rather than repeating the same discredited claims that his predecessors repeated throughout the last Parliament. Keeping communities safe from crime, and ensuring that the police can adapt to that changing crime and those emerging threats, are what the public care about and what this Government will deliver.
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew John Stevenson (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the hon. Gentleman agree that when it comes to policing, it is not just a question of money but a question of structure? Will he acknowledge that the SNP Government made a mistake in reducing their police to a single force?
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman would confirm that the Scottish Government were advised, before they made the changes to the Scottish policing structure, that they would lose their special status on VAT. If so, why did they still proceed to make the change?
Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety — House of Commons, 2016-02-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): I am pleased to see your happy countenance, Mr Speaker, for I rise depressed. I thought coming to this place that I would avoid tedious arguments about inputs and instead participate in a debate about results, policy and methods. In 2008, when I became deputy mayor for policing in London, I inherited a police force that had lost its way but was awash with cash. At that time in the capital, significant crime types were rising, not least teenage murder. During my four years, I helped, cajoled, bullied and persuaded the police to refocus at the same time as cutting significant amounts of money from the police budget. During that entire period crime fell, particularly some important crime types such as teenage murder. In my first year, there were 29. In my final year there were eight. It convinced me there and then that there is little connection between resource and output and results in policing. It is much more about focus What is depressing about the argument that the right hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) has made today is that it fundamentally misunderstands the nature of modern policing and modern crime. Government and many police and crime commissioners throughout the country are trying to refocus the police on some of the challenges that they face.