Latest news with #GavinStephens
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Chief officers call for radical overhaul of structure of UK policing
Police chiefs in England and Wales want a radical overhaul of the structure of UK policing with fewer, larger forces, amid financial shortages and difficulties dealing with fraud and updating technology. The current structure of 43 geographical forces was established in the 1960s and there have long been concerns that the model is not fit for purpose. As the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) published the police data strategy for 2025 to 2030 on Thursday, force bosses called for a redesign of the structure of policing in England and Wales. NPCC chairman Gavin Stephens said: 'We need police forces that are strong and capable to be able to use technology…that are able to respond to a range of threats that might emerge in their local area and be resilient to those. 'At the moment, the system is not resilient, so I would absolutely argue for bigger, capable forces led by a stronger national centre.' He said that the way UK policing is currently set up is 'too fragmented and sometimes uncoordinated'. 'There are many things that, particularly in the digital world, where if we do it once well for everybody, we can get the sort of scale that we need. 'I think it's completely unacceptable that if you're a victim of crime in one area compared to another, that you might have a stand a better chance of having your perpetrator bought to justice because that particular force is deploying some technology in comparison with another force that hasn't. 'We need a system where digital advancements, that do move rapidly, we can evolve and get those implemented at scale.' The chief constable's comments came after a report by think tank the Police Foundation earlier this month found that fraud victims are being let down because of the outdated 1960s structure. It said that UK policing is trying to battle '21st century cyber-enabled cross-border crime' in a localised system that is decades old, with fraud now accounting for 40% of crime in Britain. Research by report sponsor Virgin Media O2 also found that three forces in England and Wales had no officers dedicated to investigating fraud. The digital strategy, published on Thursday, says it is estimated that forces will spend around £2 billion on IT in 2025/26, £590 million of which will go on maintaining systems that could instead be modernised. Chief Constable Rob Carden, who is the NPCC lead for digital, data and technology, also highlighted issues with recruiting specialist staff who otherwise go to the private sector. He said the Government's safer streets plan to reduce crime and boost public confidence will not be possible without more investment in technology. 'It's certainly my personal contention that the safer streets mission is simply not achievable without digital data and technology,' he said. His comments came after one of Britain's most senior police officers Sir Mark Rowley joined with five other chief officers, including Mr Stephens, to call on the Government for 'serious investment' in the next spending review in June. In a letter to the Times, they along with the chief constables of Merseyside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire Police said: 'A lack of investment will bake in the structural inefficiencies for another three years and will lose a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the service.' The digital strategy estimates that 15 million hours of police time could be saved if the Government gives forces £220 million for spending on technology over the next three years. The NPCC said that projects that have already been piloted have saved 347,656 workforce hours and £8.2 million per year, and could save 15 million hours and £370 million per year if rolled out nationally. Mr Stephens said: 'Without investment, we will fall behind rather than become more productive. 'We will not be able to restore neighbourhood policing. 'Halving violence against women and girls and knife crime will become much harder to reach targets.' The projects that are currently being piloted include: – live facial recognition – currently used by the Met, Essex and South Wales Police. It is hoped this could be made available for use by individual officers in the future. – a system in Kent where domestic abuse victims are connected with an officer via video call, reducing the average response time from 32 hours to three minutes. – finish setting up the national digital forensics platform to make analysis of devices quicker – using AI to triage 101 calls, as currently being trialled by West Midlands Police – expanding use of robotic process automation for administrative tasks – national rollout of video and text redaction tools including new deepfake detection technology. The system to automatically redact text is estimated to save around one million hours of staff time per year. – increased use of drones.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Police chiefs will disclose suspects' ethnicity more often to counter disinformation
Police should release details such as the ethnicity of suspects in order to be transparent with the public following major incidents, police leaders have said following the parade crash in Liverpool. Merseyside Police revealed that the suspect was a 'white British' man less than two hours after a car ploughed into the fans, injuring 79 people at Liverpool FC's Premier League victory parade on Monday. Gavin Stephens, chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), defended the decision – which has been described as a 'complete step change' from the same force's approach to releasing information following last year's knife attack in Southport. Police were criticised for not releasing more information about the attacker, who murdered three schoolgirls, after false rumours about his religion and asylum status helped to fuel far-right riots which erupted across the country. Chief constable Stephens said police are operating in an age where information is shared rapidly online and the truth can be an 'antidote' to disinformation. 'We have to operate on a basis of transparency and openness,' he said. 'When it's the right thing to do to release the information, then we should do so.' However, he warned police never want to jeopardise any ongoing court proceedings, and there may be occasions where they cannot release information to the public. His comments come after the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley agreed forces will have to release personal details about suspects more often. Sir Mark told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I'm not going to criticise another police chief who makes a judgment in a really difficult, complex situation. "Every case needs judging on its merits. I think as we go forward in the future, we would always want to be more transparent in terms of the data we release. "Sometimes the nature of the investigation, the nature of case, makes that difficult, but in principle of course, transparency is good." Asked if moving in the direction of declaring a suspect's ethnicity sooner is the way to go, Sir Mark added: "In general, I think we have to be realistic and more often... put more personal details in public, earlier." He added that we are in an age of citizen journalism and some content will be 'all over social media very, very quickly". 'People will be making guesses and inferences – I think in that world, putting more facts out is the only way to deal with it,' he added. 'And if those facts embolden racists in some cases, then we need to confront those individuals. 'I think trying to avoid truths when half-truth is in the public domain is going to be quite difficult going forward.' Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham said it was 'absolutely the right thing to do' to release details about the parade suspect to put to bed online speculation. 'Because if you have a look at social media already, within minutes of the incident being posted, there was speculation, and there was some nefarious groups who were trying to stir up some speculation around who was responsible for it,' he said on Tuesday. 'So the whole idea was to put to bed some of that for, obviously, the misinformation and disinformation that was out there, and to try to calm people.' Officers were granted extra time to question the 53-year-old man, from West Derby, Liverpool, who is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving, Merseyside Police said. A force spokesman said seven people remained in hospital in a stable condition on Wednesday and they have now identified a total of 79 people who were injured in the incident.
ITV News
28-05-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Police chiefs warn Labour's anti-crime promises will not happen without extra cash
Police chiefs are warning the government will not hit its anti-crime targets without "substantial investment" in policing in next month's spending review. In a letter published in The Times, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, NPCC chairman Constable Gavin Stephens, and the chiefs of Merseyside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire police , warned of a return to the "retrenchment we saw under austerity" without increased funding for police forces. Sir Keir Starmer has promised to halve both knife crime and violence against women and girls, and to recruit 13,000 more police officers. But the senior police officers said that will not happen without extra cash, calling this moment a "once in a generation opportunity to reform the service". The letter warned of "increasing public demand, growing social volatility - such as last summer's disorder — and new serious and organised crime threats emboldened by the online world", along with increased "global insecurity". The move is a bid to secure more funding for the Home Office in the Chancellor's spending review in June, which will set budgets for government departments until 2029. The Times reports the Home Office will have to make cuts, after what the police chiefs call a "decade of underinvestment in policing". The senior police officers say that after global instability led to an increase in defence spending, the same reasoning should also be applied to policing to tackle '"the linked threats and growing demands". They also warn that the government's sentencing reforms announced last week, which will see more criminals serve community sentences, are likely to increase pressure on policing. That contradicts the view of former justice secretary and author of the sentencing review David Gauke, along with other prison reform experts, who say community sentences are proven to cut reoffending. Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has also agreed to allow some criminals, including violent and sexual offenders, to be released early for good behaviour. In a separate plea, other senior crime bodies have also called on the government for more funding amid pressures from the plans to release prisoners early. The heads of the Metropolitan Police, MI5 and the National Crime Agency were among those who warned that plans to release prisoners early could be 'of net detriment to public safety' in a letter to the Ministry of Justice. They also argued they would need the 'necessary resources' in the upcoming spending review to deal with the plan's impacts and maintain order, The Times reported. 'We have to ensure that out of court does not mean out of justice, and that out of prison does not mean out of control,' they said in a letter sent before the formal announcement. Conservative shadow minister, Helen Whately, said Labour 'needs to sort this out' and 'take responsibility' for ensuring there were enough prison places, adding: 'They are the guys who are in government now.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We are backing the police to protect our communities and keep our streets safe with up to £17.6 billion this year, an increase of up to £1.2 billion. 'This includes £200 million to kickstart putting 13,000 additional neighbourhood police officers, PCSOs and special constables that the public will see back on their streets and patrolling communities, as part of our Plan for Change.' A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'This government inherited prisons in crisis, close to collapse. We will never put the public at risk by running out of prison places again. 'We are building new prisons, on track for 14,000 places by 2031 – the largest expansion since the Victorians. 'Our sentencing reforms will force prisoners to earn their way to release or face longer in jail for bad behaviour, while ensuring the most dangerous offenders can be kept off our streets. 'We will also increase probation funding by up to £700 million by 2028/29 to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders in the community.'
North Wales Chronicle
28-05-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Police chiefs call for ‘serious investment' amid early prison release plans
The heads of the Metropolitan Police, MI5 and the National Crime Agency were among those who warned that plans to release prisoners early could be 'of net detriment to public safety' in a letter to the Ministry of Justice. They also argued they would need the 'necessary resources' in the upcoming spending review to deal with the plan's impacts and maintain order, The Times reported. 'We have to ensure that out of court does not mean out of justice, and that out of prison does not mean out of control,' they said in a letter sent before the formal announcement. Meanwhile, six of the UK's most senior police chiefs said they needed a larger workforce and called for 'serious investment', in a joint article in the paper. Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, NPCC chairman Constable Gavin Stephens, and the chiefs of Merseyside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire police cited the 'increasing public demand, growing social volatility … and new serious and organised crime threats emboldened by the online world'. They also said the emergency release of people from the prison system and recommendations in the sentencing review would put more pressure on policing as 'we will inevitably be drawn into the control of criminals who would previously have been in prison'. The policing settlement in Chancellor Rachel Reeves' spending review, due in June, would directly influence whether forces are able to deliver as many begin to 'lose officer numbers and shrink', they said. 'A lack of investment will bake in the structural inefficiencies for another three years and will lose a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the service.' The sentencing review released last week recommended measures to tackle prison overcrowding. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has agreed to allow some criminals, including violent and sexual offenders, to be released early for good behaviour. She also agreed to scrap short sentences of under 12 months and have more criminals serve sentences in the community instead. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We are backing the police to protect our communities and keep our streets safe with up to £17.6 billion this year, an increase of up to £1.2 billion. 'This includes £200 million to kickstart putting 13,000 additional neighbourhood police officers, PCSOs and special constables that the public will see back on their streets and patrolling communities, as part of our Plan for Change.' A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'This Government inherited prisons in crisis, close to collapse. We will never put the public at risk by running out of prison places again. 'We are building new prisons, on track for 14,000 places by 2031 – the largest expansion since the Victorians. 'Our sentencing reforms will force prisoners to earn their way to release or face longer in jail for bad behaviour, while ensuring the most dangerous offenders can be kept off our streets. 'We will also increase probation funding by up to £700 million by 2028/29 to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders in the community.'
Rhyl Journal
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Rhyl Journal
Police chiefs call for ‘serious investment' amid early prison release plans
The heads of the Metropolitan Police, MI5 and the National Crime Agency were among those who warned that plans to release prisoners early could be 'of net detriment to public safety' in a letter to the Ministry of Justice. They also argued they would need the 'necessary resources' in the upcoming spending review to deal with the plan's impacts and maintain order, The Times reported. 'We have to ensure that out of court does not mean out of justice, and that out of prison does not mean out of control,' they said in a letter sent before the formal announcement. Meanwhile, six of the UK's most senior police chiefs said they needed a larger workforce and called for 'serious investment', in a joint article in the paper. Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, NPCC chairman Constable Gavin Stephens, and the chiefs of Merseyside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire police cited the 'increasing public demand, growing social volatility … and new serious and organised crime threats emboldened by the online world'. They also said the emergency release of people from the prison system and recommendations in the sentencing review would put more pressure on policing as 'we will inevitably be drawn into the control of criminals who would previously have been in prison'. The policing settlement in Chancellor Rachel Reeves' spending review, due in June, would directly influence whether forces are able to deliver as many begin to 'lose officer numbers and shrink', they said. 'A lack of investment will bake in the structural inefficiencies for another three years and will lose a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the service.' The sentencing review released last week recommended measures to tackle prison overcrowding. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has agreed to allow some criminals, including violent and sexual offenders, to be released early for good behaviour. She also agreed to scrap short sentences of under 12 months and have more criminals serve sentences in the community instead. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We are backing the police to protect our communities and keep our streets safe with up to £17.6 billion this year, an increase of up to £1.2 billion. 'This includes £200 million to kickstart putting 13,000 additional neighbourhood police officers, PCSOs and special constables that the public will see back on their streets and patrolling communities, as part of our Plan for Change.' A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'This Government inherited prisons in crisis, close to collapse. We will never put the public at risk by running out of prison places again. 'We are building new prisons, on track for 14,000 places by 2031 – the largest expansion since the Victorians. 'Our sentencing reforms will force prisoners to earn their way to release or face longer in jail for bad behaviour, while ensuring the most dangerous offenders can be kept off our streets. 'We will also increase probation funding by up to £700 million by 2028/29 to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders in the community.'
