Oral answer to question provided on Monday, 15 December 2008 in the House of Commons, by Lord Coaker (Labour), Home Office.

Police Bureaucracy

Answer: And they do see real cops. I bet that the neighbourhood policing teams in the hon. Gentleman's constituency demonstrate such visible policing and the presence on the streets that everybody wants to see. By reducing bureaucracy and through the changes that we are making to stop and account forms, through the work that Jan Berry is doing and through crime recording pilots—which have shown that it is possible to reduce bureaucracy in respect of a whole range of crimes—not only will communication between constituents and the police improve, but we will see the increased numbers of police that everybody wants to see on the street.

This is an answer to the Oral question asked on Monday, 15 December 2008 by Mark Pritchard (Conservative).

Question: I agree with the Minister that communication with our constituents needs to improve, but I doubt whether it will come as a surprise to him to learn that most of my constituents do not see crime as virtual or in e-mails, but in reality. What they want to see is more police officers on the street and less bureaucracy, so it is very concerning that the Minister is talking about e-cops; what people want to see is real cops.

Secondary information