Did you mean policy speaker:Julian Huppert?
Julian Huppert: ...success and there are successes in other areas, such as renewable energy. Relevant to home affairs, the main subject for today, crime is down consistently. I welcome that. Every year that we debate police funding there has been a suggestion that crime is about to start shooting upwards. Every year it continues to go down. We have made some progress on something very dear to my heart: civil...
Julian Huppert: ...law. A review will not solve the problem on its own. I pay tribute to the work done by the CTC’s road justice campaign, which produced an excellent report called “Road Justice: the role of the police”—I know that the Minister has had some discussions with that organisation—which looked not only at the legal aspects, but at the role of the police and the prosecution. The law is...
Julian Huppert: ...be safer on the roads. It will reduce collisions and make pedestrians and cyclists a lot safer, which I welcome. I turn briefly to new clause 10 about the term of imprisonment for the murder of a police or prison officer. When the Minister winds up, I would be grateful if he could clarify the role of judicial discretion in this area. It is always helpful for us to set out what the base...
Julian Huppert: ...a copy of the advice and business case she has received on the use of water cannon in mainland UK; (2) when she plans to make a decision on the request to authorise water cannon for use by the police in England and Wales.
Julian Huppert: .... More than 500,000 stops are drugs-related, but 93% of those stopped did not have anything illegal on them. Does the Home Secretary agree with the Runnymede Trust and StopWatch that heavy-handed policing of the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use is damaging community relations?
Julian Huppert: ...the use of water cannon in Northern Ireland; (3) what steps she plans to take to ensure that the temperature of water within a water cannon tank is retained at five degrees Celsius; (4) how many police officers in England are trained to use water cannon; (5) what assessment she has made of the efficacy of the existing tactics in place for use of water cannon in Northern Ireland; (6) if...
Julian Huppert: ...effect? It is important to highlight why this matters. We have had a great deal of discussion about process, but we should remember why it is important. Our work with our partners in this area of policing and criminal justice is one of the great benefits of European Union membership. There are other benefits—on trade, free movement and a stronger voice on the international stage—but...
Julian Huppert: .... As the Home Affairs Committee highlighted, that runs contrary to the logic of the Government’s stated policy. We get huge benefits from the European arrest warrant. The Association of Chief Police Officers—it nears the end of its career but it continues for now at least to speak for senior police officers—has highlighted that relying on alternative arrangements to the European...
Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the maximum use period is of (a) a new water cannon and (b) a used water cannon of the type the Metropolitan Police Service wishes to purchase from Germany.
Julian Huppert: ...based on a number of occasions, but she is right to say that it could be one event with a number of communications within that event. The hon. Lady also touched on the important point of what the police would have to prove. There may be a case of grooming over some considerable time, but to have proof that could stand up in court about sufficient instances could be a problem. It would be...
Julian Huppert: ...of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the use of the Self Evident app to facilitate crime reporting by victims and evidence submissions by witnesses to the police.
Julian Huppert: ...be locked up, but they should be incredibly rare and I find it bizarre that hundreds of children suffered in that way. The Howard League for Penal Reform states: “the refreshing approach of police forces across England and Wales to reduce the number of unnecessary child arrests, has allowed a renewed focus on crime prevention and alternatives to custody. Youth justice reinvestment pilots...
Julian Huppert: I hope that the hon. Gentleman, to whom I shall give way in a moment, will accept that we have, in fact, seen a reduction in crime, whether it is measured by police reporting or by the crime survey.
Julian Huppert: Even in that intervention, the hon. Gentleman very carefully avoided saying where he would get the extra money. I think that we would all love to have more money to spend on policing, and, indeed, on almost everything that a Government do; the problem is where that money is to come from. The hon. Gentleman also missed an opportunity to intervene earlier—this is relevant to the point that he...
Julian Huppert: ...like a firearm. I agree that there is a place for Tasers as a less lethal option, but I do not think that they should be rolled out for basic use. That is a subject for another debate, however. The police work very well. The establishment of the College of Policing is one of the best things that the Government have done in this area. It will make it much easier for policing to become a...
Julian Huppert: On the number of front-line police officers, will the Minister join me in congratulating Cambridgeshire constabulary and particularly its chief constable, who has managed to maintain the number of police constables in the force throughout this period and is now recruiting more? Does that not show what can be done if budgets are used carefully?
Julian Huppert: Will the Home Secretary assure us that any questions that the relatives have can be asked and answered? What level of co-operation is she receiving from retired police officers?
Julian Huppert: ...with the (a) Secretary of State for the Home Department and (b) Minister for Crime Prevention before stating on social media on 3 February 2014 that the Government would consult with the pub trade, police and councils on having extended pub opening hours on 14 June 2014.
Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what recent representations she has received from the Association of Chief Police Officers on the cost of licensing firearms; (2) what the cost of (a) administering firearms licenses and (b) income from firearms licenses was in each police force in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
Julian Huppert: I thank the Leader of the House. It is clear that there have been some benefits. The recent Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill ended up with a lot of provisions that were recommended on pre-legislative scrutiny, although the process would have been faster if they had been included straight away. Does he agree that the principle should be that, unless there are exceptional reasons,...