MP meets Hull Police on 'crime screening'

Hull North MP Diana Johnson today (Friday 28 April) met Hull Police to discuss policing priorities in Hull, including the controversial 'crime screening' policy.

The meeting with Divisional Commander for Hull, Sean White, follows the MP's recent correspondence with Humberside Police Chief Constable Tim Hollis, in which she expressed her concern about the 'crime screening' policy that was pursued in Hull between December 2005 and early April 2006.

Diana Johnson MP also joined Hull Police out on patrol last Saturday night (22 April) in the Beverley Road pub and club district and in the City Centre - Hull's main concentrations of licensed premises and the night-time economy.

The MP saw at first-hand the challenges faced by the local Police and the work of the Police's first-response paramedic team.

Diana Johnson MP said: "The Government has reversed the fall in police numbers that happened under the Tories, boosted neighbourhood policing with Police Community Support Officers and Community Wardens, and provided, in the face of especially bitter opposition from the Lib Dems, new powers to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour.

"Even with all these extra resources, I appreciate that our Police still have to balance the deployment of their personnel between investigating past and present cases. However, most of my Hull North constituents would not want, even temporarily, an unintended message of leniency to go out to the anti-social louts who blight communities.

"Local people want the Police to be taking full advantage of their new powers, investigating and prosecuting all crimes where evidence is available and sustaining a noticeable presence on the beat detecting and deterring crime throughout Hull.

"It was fascinating to be with Hull Police officers on their Saturday night stint in Beverley Road and the City Centre, seeing what they contend with every week. With the debates also going on about regional police reorganisation and the effects of the Licensing Act, it was great to hear the views of frontline police officers on the ground about what more can be done to make communities safer."

"I look forward to patrolling with local Police again during the World Cup this Summer!"