Why does our long arm of the law fall short for so many?
WHY do people lack confidence in West Midlands Police? It turns out West Midlands Police is the lowest-rated force in the country.
This is the finding of the British Crime Survey, carried out by the Office for National Statistics each year.
The survey found 65 per cent of people in the West Midlands force area said they had confidence in the police – lower than in any other part of the country.
Meanwhile, 70 per cent of people in the area served by Greater Manchester Police have confidence in their local force. The figure is 74 per cent for Merseyside Police, and 74 per cent for London’s Metropolitan Police.
West Midlands Police also came last when residents were asked if they felt police did a “good” or “excellent” job.
Just 42.5 per cent agreed with this assessment in the West Midlands, the lowest figure nationwide.
The survey offers some clues as to why this might be.
Asked whether they have confidence police will treat them fairly, 64 per cent of people in the West Midlands force area agreed, slightly higher than in many other places.
But just 59 per cent in the West Midlands force area say they agree that “police understand local concerns”, the lowest figure in the country.
And asked whether their police force and local council are “dealing with the anti-social behaviour and crime issues that matter in the local area”, just 41 per cent in the West Midlands force area agreed, once again, the lowest figure nationwide.
This can’t be explained by high levels of crime.
In fact, the force’s crime rate, while above the national average, is lower than that of Greater Manchester, Merseyside or London’s Metropolitan Police.
But the region does appear to have a drugs problem. A remarkable 41 per cent of people in the West Midlands area said they were aware of people using or dealing drugs over the past 12 months, the highest figure in the country.
In second place comes London, where 31 per cent say they are aware of drugs in their neighbourhood. It’s a pretty big gap, suggesting the problem is significantly worse in our region.
David Jamieson, the outgoing police and crime commissioner for West Midlands Police, admits public confidence in the police is falling, and has a theory about why it’s happening.
In a report marking the end of his term in office he suggested that policing had failed to keep up with the times.
Crime is increasingly taking place online, and the public can see that police forces are ill-equipped to cope, he said.
Mr Jamieson, a Labour politician, said: “Public confidence in policing is declining, and I believe this is in part because the public see the police struggling to cope with some of the challenges now evident.
“Online frauds, more traditional fraud and cybercrime affect more people than other forms of crime. Crime, like the wider economy, has shifted online, and policing needs to do more to respond; policing’s approach to technology, both to manage its own business but also to effectively investigate crimes, needs to improve.
“The scandal of failed and over-budget Home Office IT projects hasn’t helped.”
He also suggested that police were struggling to cope with an increase in the number of “hidden crimes”, such as domestic abuse, that they are called upon to deal with.
“Victims of hidden crimes such as domestic abuse are more confident to come forward, and policing is better able to record the extent of the threat.
“Now the challenge is to manage this demand, while appropriately supporting victims, bringing offenders to justice and reducing reoffending.
“Again, thoughtful, honest, informed approaches based more on prevention than the response will be required.”
Jay Singh-Sohal, the Conservative candidate for police and crime commissioner, highlighted police station closures and cuts to community policing as a reason why confidence is low.
He said: “We’ve had a mass centralisation into Lloyd House (the force’s Birmingham headquarters), with police stations closing in other parts of the region. 44 gone over the past nine years and 24 more now being threatened.
“We’ve seen the dismantling of neighbourhood policing, with the result that the community are far more removed from police or policing than they used to be.”
He also said the incumbent police and crime commissioner had failed to talk directly to communities in the region, for example by taking part in public meetings.
Labour MP Khalid Mahmood (Lab Perry Barr) also highlighted cuts to neighbourhood policing.
“One of the big reasons is the amount of staff that has been cut. That’s not just frontline police officers but community support officers – people that had communication with the community. When people could stop and chat on the front gate, or just say ‘hi’ as they passed, people saw that as a strong police presence.
“Taking those staff out of Birmingham has had a huge effect.”
He also said residents who reported crimes faced long waits before they were able to speak to a police officer. “They are really hurt by that, and lose confidence.”
We’ve seen the dismantling of neighbourhood policing, the community are far more removed from police Jay Singh-Sohal – Tory PCC candidate