/rss/podcasts/podcast.xmlChief Constable Julie Spence talking about policing in CambridgeshireCambridgeshire Constabularyen-gb720Copyright Cambridgeshire Constabulary 2006Wed, 28 Jun 2006 12:00:00 +0000Cambridgeshire PoliceNo 28th June - 12th July - Julie Spence talking about shifting the balance of power. Julie Spence - Shifting the balance of power 28th June - 12th July - Julie Spence talking about shifting the balance of power. Wed, 28 Jun 2006 12:00:00 +0000 00:07:57 http://www.cambs.police.uk/rss/podcasts/jspence280606.mp3 Podcast - Shifting the balance of power In this weeks podcast I want to look at three quite difficult issues, but there all key elements of living in a safe modern society. Firstly it's about managing paedophiles in the community. Secondly it's rebalancing the legal system, to bring the balance back towards victims and witnesses which I know many people feel are strayed very much towards the defendants. And finally I want to look at the very serious offence of rape and actually how we as a police service manage rape. So let's go... The well-documented problems facing the Home Office has led to a barrage of, unusually bad, tabloid and broadsheet headlines, in recent weeks. Law and order, and how we police and administer justice, is never far from the top of the political agenda. So last week the Prime Minister weighed into the debate with a thoughtful speech on the criminal justice system - and the problems of crime and anti social behaviour in our society. The debate on criminal justice has been given a dramatic and frightening twist amid the concern expressed about people with convictions for sexual offences gainst children living in our communities. A high profile media campaign as I am all sure you all know led by the 'News of the World' has had sympathetic noises from the Home Secretary among others over the introduction of Megan's law, or Sarah's law as it would be known here, which would give people the right to know where sex offenders are housed. This is a hugely emotive issue, but I currently feel that a system that has a clear plan of managing offenders and knows where they are and what they are doing is preferable to a free for all which could drive offenders underground. But the issue is confidence. Parents and all of us need confidence in the system that operates to ensure that our children are as safe as they can be. If a Megan's law is to be rejected then the understandable concern of parents and families needs to be addressed and more clearly and effectively than it is now. But I want to go back to something the Prime Minister said last week which struck a chord. He talked about the gap between what the public expects and what the public sees or perceives. In an earlier podcast I made the point that people only tend to see what happens in their own street or community when it comes to policing - usually local patrols or responses to incidents, or the helicopter flying over them. In reality of course a lot more lies behind the visible end of our work. But the Prime Minister was talking about a lot more than the visible end of policing. He referred to what he called 'ordinary, decent, law-abiding folk who play fair and play by the rules, and who see too many people who don't do the same thing but are seen to be getting away with it'. I have to say I share that frustration and it is a frustration that is born of what sometimes feels like a system that requires police officers and police staff to wade through glue in order to get results. It is true that our society is changing - and changing continually - we no longer live in a 1950s-style ideal, if indeed that situation ever existed. The traditional family exists but is less prevalent; demographics are changing; and closer integration in Europe means changing and moving populations. And of course our overall levels of prosperity are much higher now. As a democracy we are rightly proud of our tradition of tolerance and decency. But that has to be underpinned by proper authority, local accountability and above all respect for the rules. I think many of our perceptions about safety and levels of crime are formed by what we see in our own street and in our own communities. Where problems appear to go unchecked or when people feel that offenders are putting two fingers up to the law and the criminal justice system then decent law-abiding people feel, justifiably, cheated. We need to see a shift in the balance of power back to victims and witnesses. That doesn't mean abusing the rights of offenders or, more especially, those suspected of crimes. An effective legal system needs close attention to detail and facts. We have to cross the t's and dot the I's. But people need to see and feel that justice has been done. We mustn't allow systems - and new ideas and new law - to get in the way of common sense and common decency. So I support the idea of giving my officers and staff more powers to take swift action and impose on the spot justice to tackle anti social behaviour and other problems - with a view to the courts backing up their decisions at a later date if necessary. But more power to act comes with a health warning. Powers alone do not cure problems. Arrests and sanctions certainly draw a line in the sand around acceptable and unacceptable behaviours, but people need to support the criminal justice system if they want to see justice done. That means you, me and everybody else speaking up, being prepared to be a witness and to give evidence. And it also means working with local councils and other authorities to make communities look and feel safer. I am sure you all know that removing litter and graffiti are key elements to this. It just makes us feel safer as we walk around. Our approach to strengthening people's confidence involves putting more staff in communities and working more closely with people to tackle the issues that affect them and their neighbourhood. We're actually recruiting more than one hundred community support officers to bolster neighbourhood teams. I do believe that it is important to deal robustly with low level crime as part of tackling more serious offenders and offences. The experience of police in New York and other major American cities is that if you tackle lower level crime in your neighbourhoods with as much gusto as serious crime - then crime levels actually fall dramatically and feelings of public satisfaction and safety increase. To that end I am focusing more and more resources on problem 'hotspots' as they arise and my officers will aim to nip issues in the bud. I know that my colleagues in the criminal justice services, from the courts to probation, are working to ensure a much more closely aligned service in Cambridgeshire to help shift that balance back in favour of victims and witnesses. I want a shift in the balance of power so that communities feel safer and more confident in dealing with the crime and anti social behaviour that affects them. That's real local accountability and real local policing. Communities also need to understand that the wider police family is working hard, even though it is less visible to them, providing professional and proactive policing services to tackle serious crime, roads policing and cross-border crime and counter terrorism. In doing so we remain accountable to you through our Police Authority. I hope politicians of all hues - both locally and nationally - will work with the police and the criminal justice agencies to help us fight for the rights of the decent law abiding majority, making the increasingly complex and fast changing society in which we live, safer for all of us. Finally, I want to mention a report on the BBC's Panorama programme which looked at the sensitive subject of rape and rape investigations. What the programme did effectively highlight is that the majority of rape cases involve acquaintances of the victim. However, one of the claims made in the programme is that the police sometimes fail to take rape claims seriously. I can assure you that my officers are encouraged to respond proactively and quickly to any allegations of rape. We really do understand how serious this is for the victim. In carrying out any investigation you have to establish the facts and build a file of evidence, and in rape cases that can be incredibly complex and difficult. What we are not in a position to do as a police service is change the court system where defendants and their legal teams have a right to defend themselves as robustly as they feel necessary. I know that for the complainant, that can be as damaging if not more so than the initial circumstances of the complaint. There are no easy answers but I am committed to ensuring that anyone who complains that they have been raped will be dealt with professionally and sensitively, by specially trained officers. And we will support them throughout the criminal justice process and we shall also do all we possibly can to bring those responsible for rape to justice. Thanks for listening.