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Policing in London

All hon. Members agree that the way in which London is policed has a major impact on the lives of all who live and work in the capital, and all who visit it. Effective policing, especially at neighbourhood level, can not only help reduce crime and the fear of crime, but enhance community relations and cohesion. I want to consider the way in which real policies make a genuine difference to people’s everyday lives. Mark Tolland, Brent’s borough commander, called me in for a debrief on a raid that happened two weeks ago, when Brent police, Brent safer neighbourhoods team and, more important, the Brent community, stood up to drug dealers on the South Kilburn estate and ensured a successful exercise, which resulted in the arrest and conviction of key criminals. The hon. Member for Richmond Park (Susan Kramer) spoke about lifting Lib Dem policies. A policy that was not lifted from the Lib Dem manifesto was that of ending the use of imprisonment as a punishment for possession of own-use illegal drugs of any class. I want to stress to the Mayor of London and my party that we must continue in the direction in which we are travelling because it is the right direction, and not adopt any such Lib Dem policies. Last week, I was out with my safer neighbourhoods teams on the St. Raph’s estate. We saw the difference that the teams were making to the community and the trust that was beginning to be built there. Statistics show a significant decrease in crime in my constituency. Total crime was down last year. Violent offences, robbery, burglary, gun crime, domestic crime, racist crime and homophobic crime were all down in my constituency. That is because of the extra investment that the Mayor of London and the Government have made in the police and public services. Total crime in Brent fell by more than 12 per cent. That is better than in the rest of London, where crime fell by 6 per cent. The reduction is also due to the work that has been done in the community. Although I hope that we will reach the position whereby there are no murders in Brent, murders in the past year reduced by half, from 10 to only four. Gun crime fell by almost a quarter from 208 instances to 162. The hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Nick Herbert) asked whether our policies worked. The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 has worked in Brent and we are experiencing the effect of the changes through the fall in the crime figures. Safer neighbourhoods teams were launched in my constituency on the Stonebridge estate. Nothing demonstrates better the changes in London than the effect of the safer neighbourhoods teams. A few months ago, the Opposition made some big headlines with demands for more bobbies on the beat. Safer neighbourhoods teams are the bobbies on the beat by a different name. The full roll-out across London was completed ahead of schedule in April 2006, with all the teams at the minimum 1-2-3 model by the end of December. That has had a borough-wide effect in Brent. In Dudden hill, which I visited the other day, a lady told me that she could feel the difference. I hope that the hon. Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes), who made some pertinent points in condemning people who put out leaflets and information that sensationalise crime in the area and make people feel less safe, will condemn the leaflets that are being distributed in Dudden hill. They undermine the good work of our safer neighbourhoods teams.