Ruffley launches plans for police reform

David Ruffley, Shadow Minister for Police Reform, has launched the Conservatives "Back on the Beat" policing paper.

David said, "The public want the police back on the beat and that is where the police also want to be. We need to take the handcuffs off the police and put them on the criminals."

The document outlines plans to:

• Pilot new specially-designed mobile urban gaols ("MUGs") to go into crime hotspots that are afflicted by, for instance, knife crime and antisocial disorder. Police will be able to deal with more offenders more quickly without having to go all the way back to the police station. MUG's can reduce the time officers spend off the beat. MUGs will also mean a more visible police presence for the public.
• Reform one of the biggest police paper chases of them all - the police having to fill in the lengthy MG6 disclosure forms for the lawyers in the CPS.
• Abolish statutory charging for a large number of offences - this means giving back powers to custody sergeants to charge offenders without having to fill in forms for the CPS lawyers and then spend further time waiting for those lawyers to make a charging decision.
• Scrap the current 'RIPA' rules that make a policeman fill in multiple forms every time he wants to stakeout a known burglar's house or carry out plain clothed surveillance. The police shouldn't have to fill in forms for straight forward police operations like these.
• Cut the paperwork of stop and search recording.

David added, "Labour have a criminal record - antisocial disorder, gun crime, violence, robbery, knife crime and stabbings are all up on their watch. The public want the police back on the beat and these proposals are a start in achieving just that."

Download the "Back on the Beat" report.