Brown urged to stop crime 'chaos' on city streets (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford police chief puts Prime Minister on the spot

11:05am Friday 23rd October 2009 in News By Jo Winrow

The city’s police chief has warned Prime Minister Gordon Brown that a lack of powers to control criminals who would previously have been sent to prison is “causing chaos” in Bradford.

Chief Superintendent Alison Rose, the divisional commander of Bradford South Police, was speaking at the question and answer session with the PM in the city yesterday.

The event, hosted by the Telegraph & Argus at the National Media Museum, was a chance for guests to quiz the Prime Minister.

Chief Supt Rose said that managing offenders in the community rather than sending them to prison was making the police’s job more difficult.

She said a number of reviews all talked about not sending people to prison.

She said: “We are a big advocate here of integrated offender management, and that has been successful. But I have the responsibility of managing an active criminal population that a couple of years ago would have been in prison and I don’t have the powers to control those active offenders.

“I have a lot of support from my local partners, we have drug interventions here, which are very successful and we are just starting alcohol interventions, but the legislation that I need is 40 years out of date.

“Can you please have a look at the Bail Act and the conditions that I can put on active offenders? These are the people that are living on the streets of Bradford and they are causing chaos.

“This leads to a lack of confidence in the criminal justice system and a lack of confidence in the police. I really urge you to have a look at this because the under-12-month prison population is here, it’s real and I am trying to manage it but I don’t have the powers.”

Mr Brown promised to respond further in writing. He said: “I can see that you are trying to keep people out of prison but having to deal with the problem where you don’t have the powers to discipline them properly – and I accept that.”

The question came at the end of a lively session when Mr Brown offered to take extra questions and although he said he would not be able to answer them fully, he would write to the questioners with more detailed responses.

Councillor Kris Hopkins, leader of the Council, said: “If a professional such as Alison Rose is calling for changes then I absolutely support her. I will be writing to her myself to ask for fuller details of what she wants to change.

“If there is no room in prisons or we are saying we want to deal with offenders in the community then the police needs powers to deal with these people.”

Councillor Ian Greenwood, Labour leader on Bradford Council, was at the event. He said later: “One of the most infuriating things is when the police do their job and arrest someone and that person is out on the streets and in some cases re-offends.”

Liberal Democrat group leader Jeanette Sunderland, who could not attend yesterday, said: “One of the successes in Bradford has been the positive work to get people into jobs and housing and support them to show that a life of crime leads nowhere. Anything that can allow more of that good work would be welcome.”

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