Commissioner hits back at Met critics

FORMER New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is in town and there have been inevitable comparisons between London crime and policing in New York.

Every journalist I meet is asking me if the Met is going to "bring in" zerotolerance policing.

At the heart of this issue is street crime in London and what the Met is doing to bring it under control. The Home Secretary has made it clear that he expects an accountable and effective capital city police force and he is prepared to bring in New York police numbers to achieve it.

This morning I sat down with the Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, as I do on a regular basis.

Toby Harris and I both recognise the concerns of Londoners and their fear of crime because we travel around the capital and listen to the public's concerns and expectations.

We both agree with the Home Secretary when he says that targets, time scales and accountability are needed to tackle crime in London. We welcome the opportunity to see our numbers raised to the region of 42,000.

The Met has already set itself tighter time scales to get on top of street crime than those laid down by the Home Secretary. Back in January we announced we were launching proactive operations against street robbers. We are carrying out operations on a daily basis and getting results now, not in six months' time.

Of course I am accountable. I answer to the Home Office, I answer to the Police Authority and I need the Mayor's backing to pay for policing in London. It is absolutely right that I and other police chiefs should answer for our performance - that is one of the lessons we learned long ago from our counterparts in New York.

The people of London deserve to have the finest police service in the world. I recognise their fears about street robbery, violent car thefts and shootings and I accept the perception of fear of crime has become too close to reality. But I hope I am not doubted when I say that their safety is my number one concern, not just against robbers and burglars but also from international or Irish dissident terrorism.

As Commissioner I am paid to make tough choices and switching officers from crime fighting to counter ter rorism after 11 September was difficult.

But it had to be done. Street crime would not have reached its present proportions without the Met being forced to refocus priorities against the threat of terrorist attacks.

We continue to face the twin challenges of providing effective security in London and dealing with increases in street crime driven by mobile phone theft.

As the Standard has reported, our Safer Streets initiative against street crime is having a real impact on the nine worstaffected boroughs - some custody cells have been filled to overflowing in the first week. We are actually arresting more street robbers than ever before.

Every single week I am commending more officers than ever before for acts of bravery and heroism and there is no doubting that London's police men and women - in the main unarmed - are every bit as brave and hardworking as those in New York.

However, I question why, if the Met is arresting so many offenders (more than a quarter more than last year) there are so many still at large. Violent offenders who bring misery to the public should not be treated like shoplifters by the courts and bailed time and again.

David Blunkett has set out a "'plan for change" which deserves our support but, as I made it clear to a recent Home Affairs Select Committee, accountability must never be translated into political veto over operational policing.

The freedom for police officers to conduct sensitive inquiries must be sacrosanct in a democracy.

That is why, in London, we have a police authority independent of the Government and the Mayor.

I am, however, a realist. Crime is too important an issue to leave to police officers. We cannot beat it by ourselves. As New York's success shows, we need political backing, far more resources and effective measures from other agencies such as the courts and local authorities. The Met has long recognised youngsters do not become criminals overnight.

It can be an insidious process, which can be due to failures in education, care and the breakdown of family life.

Let there be no misunderstanding, I am prepared to be tough in beating crime and I expect others to be equally committed.

Commissioner John Stevens

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