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Crime Reduction

I join my hon. Friend in praising the improvements of Northants police. She raises an important point about the responsibility of the police’s partners. We want to change the performance management arrangements—so that we measure not only the work of the police, but that of all the partners engaged in the crime reduction partnership in solving crime locally—precisely to identify that responsibility across agencies, which involves not only the police but local authorities, housing management, health services, education and others who contribute. That might make a contribution—and as for the problem of having a Liberal Democrat council, I am sure that my hon. Friend is working hard to put that right.