48-hour police pledge on non-urgent calls

Reporter: LOBBY CORRESPONDENT
Date online: 23/11/2009

Officers will also spend more time on the beat

K Manchester Police will pledge to visit anybody making a non-emergency call within 48 hours, under a £2 million advertising blitz launched in Oldham.

And they will promise that neighbourhood policing teams will spend 80 per cent of their time on the beat, rather than hidden away in police stations.

The twin guarantees are designed to give teeth to the wide-ranging policing pledge signed by every chief constable earlier this year, but little-known to the public.

Now adverts will run on TV, radio, in newspapers and on websites, urging residents to help ensure the pledge is being met and to counter claims that policing is remote and impenetrable.

Six million leaflets setting out the standards of service will be delivered in 60 areas of higher crime, including Oldham, Manchester, Rochdale, Salford and Tameside.

Launching the Justice Seen, Justice Done campaign, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the blitz was designed to close the gap between people’s expectations and their experience.

More than half of people expect to wait longer than 48 hours for an appointment with a police officer about a neighbourhood problem, according to new research — despite the policing pledge being signed 10 months ago. Similarly, only three per cent of residents thought their neighbourhood officers spent the vast majority of their time visible on local streets.

Mr Johnson said: “There is no point people having rights if they don’t know about them. People want to know who they can call, when they can call — and what they can expect.

“This campaign is also about making it easier for the public to know their rights if they are suffering from anti-social behaviour, so they don’t end up being passed from pillar to post.”

The leaflets set out other key planks of the policing pledge, committing forces to:

::Answer 999 calls within 10 seconds and respond to emergencies within 15 minutes in urban areas, or 20 minutes in rural areas.

::Arrange monthly public meetings, giving people a chance to meet their beat officers, as well as surgeries, street briefings and visits to mobile police stations.

::Provide online crime maps, with information on specific crimes what happened to suspected criminals taken to court and support for victims.

::Allow residents to nominate sites for Community Payback work for criminals wearing orange jackets, such as removing graffiti, or clearing up litter.

Mr Johnson also revealed plans to give members of police authorities specific geographical areas for which they will be responsible.

It follows the humiliation when the Home Office was forced to dump plans for directly-elected representatives, amid warnings that the BNP and other extremists would hijack policing.