Police chief 'concerned' by national targets
The Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police says he is concerned about police forces being asked to meet national targets after Home Secretary Priti Patel warned bosses she expected to see results following increased investment from the Government.
Ms Patel took a tough line as she addressed the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and insisted once 20,000 new officers were on the streets there would be "no excuses" for forces failing to tackle crime.
National targets were brought in under New Labour but criticised by the incoming Coalition Government, who decided issues should instead be tackled at a local level under Police and Crime Commissioners.
Staffordshire Police Chief Constable Gareth Morgan said he had "concerns" about national targets and cited worries previously aired by Theresa May when she was Home Secretary that "targets hinder the fight against crime".
He also claimed Ms Patel's assertion that more money should result in improved service was an admittance policing had been damaged by budget cuts over the last decade.
Mr Morgan said on Twitter: "I agree that the public have a right to expect better policing as a result of welcome (and overdue) investment.
"Presumably this concedes that the service was lessened by austerity and cuts? I also know that my colleagues look forward to “doing more with more”.
"I also believe policing should be accountable. I have concerns about national targets on a model of local direct accountability and I do not want to see a repeat of the previous consequences - intended or otherwise - of target setting as outlined by Theresa May."
Ms Patel told the conference in London this week: “This extra injection of taxpayers’ cash must deliver the crime cuts the public desperately want.
"In three years’ time when the 20,000 additional officers are through the door, people must see a difference.
"Less crime, safer streets, no excuses. The public won’t accept them and neither should we.”
