Policing in the Metropolis

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 9:22 pm on 28 February 1983.

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Photo of Mr Timothy Eggar Mr Timothy Eggar , Enfield North 9:22, 28 February 1983

First, I should like to say to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Sparkbrook (Mr. Hattersley) that in my earlier intervention I was referring to the hon. Member for Hackney, North and Stoke Newington (Mr. Roberts), not to either of the other hon. Members representing Hackney constituencies, who were in the Chamber.

As time is short, I shall confine my remarks to the problems of my constituency, where there is widespread concern about the general question of law and order. My constituents are probably as concerned about law and order as about any other single issue, including unemployment, but I have had no complaints about the accountability or lack of accountability of the Metropolitan police. That issue has simply not been raised by my constituents. They have welcomed the borough liaison committee, and they have welcomed even more the very successful local meetings that the police have organised with residents and tenants associations.

There has also been remarkably little concern about the police complaints procedure. I believe that only one of my constituents has followed through a complaint after the usual visit by a senior police officer from another division. I therefore do not believe that the concern expressed by Opposition Members represents the view of the people, at any rate in my constituency.

There is in my constituency, however, deep concern about the apparent inability of the police to combat the growing amount of vandalism and burglary, and about a fairly limited but well-publicised number of muggings and violent attacks, not always, as we have heard, on elderly people.

There is a danger that the frustration and concern that stem from the feeling that criminals are getting away with it will spill over into a feeling of distrust and perhaps even dislike of the police among the general public. That is why I greatly welcome both the measures introduced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary. I also greatly welcomed the meetings that we had with him, and with the Commissioner and his colleagues.

I especially welcome the Commissioner's proposals to increase the number of police on the streets. In my experience—this has been proved in a difficult area of my constituency, Alma road in Ponders End—there is no better way to prevent crime than to have uniformed policemen walking around. The move to bring some 650 more policemen on to the beat is therefore extremely welcome.

I also welcome the Commissioner's decision to devote more resources to clearing up burglaries. That, too, is long overdue. The majority of people come into contact with the police only when their home has been burgled, and all too often the first thing that the police say when they arrive is that the burglar is well away and there is not much chance of solving the crime. If we are to prevent the feeling growing among the general community that the police are pretty useless, the detection rate in burglary cases must be improved.

The measures suggested by the Commissioner and those taken by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will go some way towards improving the situation, but the police cannot do it all alone. Above all, it is up to the community to help to stop crime and solve crimes. We must be honest with ourselves and with our constituents. Much of the vandalism in the streets is caused by the children of our own constituents. It is up to parents to exercise more control over their youngsters. The schools and the teachers also do not always exert sufficient discipline and leadership over our youngsters.

We must make it clear that it is up to all our constituents to help one another. Too often the police tell us that people are not prepared to give evidence in court. The most chilling example of this in my constituency was the totally unprovoked murder of a young man of 22. His mother and father received a number of telephone calls from people who had taken the trouble to find out where they lived. They said that they had seen the assault, they described the circumstances and said who was responsible, but when the parents asked for the name of the caller to pass it on to the police the person at the other end said that he did not wish to be involved. We cannot expect the police to operate in those circumstances. If we are not prepared to help ourselves, how can we blame the police if they do not clear up crimes?