Police through partnership, Chair of the Metropolitan Police tells Crime Fighters

16/01
29 March 2001

To fight crime effectively, there must be a partnership between the police and the community it serves, Toby Harris, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority told guests at the Crimestoppers annual dinner at New Scotland Yard, last night.

To an audience that included Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir John Stevens, Ian Harley, Chair of London Crimestoppers and Ellie Roy, London's Director of Crime Reduction, Toby Harris said that it was unrealistic to expect police working in isolation to prevent all public disorder and solve all crimes.

"We must encourage people from all backgrounds, including the minority ethnic communities, to participate fully in crime and disorder and public safety issues," he said.

"People who are willing to stand up and be counted. People who have the trust in the system to know their views will be valued. We need to police our communities through partnerships within those communities.

"The work of the Crime and Disorder Partnerships and the Police and Community Consultative Groups is helping to build that trust and alliance between the police and the community.

"Another important development is the Neighbourhood Wardens initiative. These schemes must be fully inclusive and embody the features of their local community, such as ethnic background, age range of residents and the geographical area they cover.

"They need to reflect the needs and aspirations of the local community and be able to respond to the problems and challenges that are specific to that area.

"These schemes must work with, not apart from, police and all of the other agencies involved in working for the community."

Toby Harris said that in order to develop effective strategies for tackling crime and disorder, each scheme would have to involve hard to reach groups whose members were often the victims of crime or had a high fear of crime, and often felt excluded from the rest of society.

"If we are to achieve greater public co-operation we have to work hard to gain public approval and consent for what the police are doing and what they represent.

"Far too many sections of our diverse communities today view the police with hostility, instead of trust. We need to work together as allies, not as adversaries. Neighbourhood Wardens and Crime and Disorder Partnerships will certainly help.

"We still have a long way to go. But together, policing our communities through active and inclusive partnership, we can and will make a difference.

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