MP backs Humberside Police modernisation

Speaking in the House of Commons today (20 December), Hull North MP Diana Johnson backed Government plans to modernise policing structures across Yorkshire.

The House of Commons has this week been debating Home Office proposals, based on advice from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), to merge the 43 police forces across the country into a far smaller number of merged forces. The HMIC proposals come from their report Closing the Gap, published in September.

Diana Johnson MP said: "Despite all the recent investment in increasing police numbers and the new powers Parliament has given the Police, Humberside Police have not served my constituents as well as they could in recent years. The current policing structures are suited more to the Britain of the 1960s than the 21st century.

"Although I am pleased with the signs that Humberside Police are changing for the better, with more police, Police Community Support Officers and Hull's Neighbourhood Wardens, there is still a pressing need to make these new resources and powers more effective. Police structures and practices need to match the modern challenges that Police face, from the anti-social bevaviour in neighbourhoods to serious international organised crime and terrorist networks.

"With the port of Hull and the Humber Estuary making the terrorist threat as real to Hull as it is to Londoners, I hope that in contrast to what happened under the Terrorism Bill MPs will listen to the advice from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, who are recommending major change.

"Now that the Chair of Humberside Police Authority and the Chief Constable have indicated their preference for a Yorkshire-wide police force, it is right and proper that there will be several months of consultation on these changes."

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