Fighting Crime (Public Engagement)

We are, and I hope that in my comments later I will be able to give my right hon. Friend the assurances that he seeks. The Casey review has been mentioned, quite rightly, in almost every speech this afternoon. It has highlighted the fact that changes are necessary to increase public confidence in the police and to empower people with the information that they need if they are to make well-informed decisions that impact on the local community. Much has been made about confidence in the police, which is central to the single target that will be part of the policing pledge. The hon. Member for Hornchurch (James Brokenshire) gave the impression—I think inadvertently—that 1997 was year zero, so let me tell him that confidence in the police unfortunately fell after 1982. In that year, 92 per cent. of people had confidence in the police, whereas only 75 per cent. did in 2003. That shows that the decline in public confidence did not begin in 1997, but I assure the House that it is something that the Government are absolutely determined to put right. The Green Paper addresses many other concerns, as my hon. Friend the Minister for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing has outlined already. The national policing pledge will set out for the first time the standard of service that the public can expect from the police. It will include standards and commitments on response times—an issue of great importance in the debate—as well as on neighbourhood policing, community engagement and time spent on the front line.