Police and Justice Bill

I am grateful to hon. Gentleman, whose interventions are timely but not always relevant. I welcome the proposals to increase the penalties for cyber crime, but I am concerned that in the very week in which we are discussing the Bill the Government are considering sharing intelligence data with other so-called competent law enforcement agencies in Europe. Under questioning, al-Qaeda suspects have admitted that cyber crime and cyber terrorism were one of their key objectives. They have admitted trying to infiltrate critical British infrastructures for the intelligence agencies and, allegedly, our nuclear and energy infrastructures. I am concerned that the Government have allowed a great deal of information to be shared with third parties that may not have the same security that we have in the United Kingdom. I do not believe that UK security is sufficient, and I hope that the Government will do all that they can to support the excellent work of experts on cyber crime and terrorism in the Cabinet Office. In conclusion, I wish to put on record my thanks for the hard work and dedication of police officers and community support officers throughout the West Mercia police force, particularly the officers who serve the Wrekin parliamentary constituency. For many years, I have supported the work of the police. I am a late convert, I admit, to the role of CSOs, but I am concerned that the extension of their powers will lead to their being less visible if they spend more time in police stations doing paperwork. I am concerned, too, that CSOs will receive the same level of training, but will be asked to do more. We need to ensure that they receive increased training. I share the concerns of some of my constituents that CSOs do not have the power of arrest and do not carry a police warrant card. I am extremely worried that the extension of powers will leave them in a position where they have not received the relevant training, they do not carry a warrant card and they do not have respect. As a result, they may well come into harm’s way. Is it not the case that police officers, along with many Conservative Members, support CSOs when they are working in co-operation and collaboration with police officers on the beat? That is where they are most effective. Those, in paraphrase, are the words of the Police Federation. The Bill is another example of the Government talking localism while centralising more powers. Allowing policing in Shropshire to be run by the Home Secretary from his desk in Whitehall will not work and is a recipe for disaster. It is a travesty to allow Parliament to debate extending CSO powers with respect to truants, but not to allow us a comprehensive debate and a Division on the amalgamation of excellent police forces such as West Mercia.