Non-English speaking victims of crime to get priority says Met chief
A SENIOR police officer sparked anger last night by suggesting crime victims who don’t speak English could be given the highest priority.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey said those needing assistance might be denied a visit from an officer unless they were deemed sufficiently “vulnerable” under a new test.
The force is set to prioritise calls by adopting an A&E-style triage system where those in need are ranked in order of importance.
Mr Mackey said it was “absolutely feasible” that “face-to-face” visits might be reserved for those for whom English was not a first language, the elderly and people with learning difficulties.
In a sign that police in London are struggling to cope, Mr Mackey suggested the idea could help the force deal with savage cuts to funding. But the move was branded a “twisted set of priorities” by critics.
He said: “That’s where you get into some of the difficult areas around do you always offer the same service to everyone?
“Increasingly, as we go forward we will look at things like trying to assess people and crime on the sort of threat, the harm, the risk and people’s vulnerability. It’s absolutely feasible that if my neighbour is a vulnerable elderly person who has experienced a particular type of crime, that she gets a face-to-face service that I don’t get. So we triage things, we assess people’s vulnerability.
“Vulnerability can manifest itself in a number of ways – people with learning difficulties, a whole range of things, some people for whom English isn’t a first language. That’s about how we get those resources focused on the things you can make a difference with. But also, as demand grows, you have to have a way of controlling and triaging.”
He suggested common crimes like vehicle theft might not need the attendance of an officer unless a triage system decided one was required. In the past four years, the Met has been forced to save £600million and is due to lose an extra £400million by 2020.
Mr Mackey added: “The Met will get smaller over the next four or five years. We are at 30,700 officers now. Realistically we will be about 30,000 through most of next year. It’s almost impossible to predict beyond that.
“It’s about how you maximise what you’ve got. With buildings, you take running costs out and that equates to keeping more officers. Nothing in this changes when people ring us and say, ‘Please, please come’. That 999 service is absolutely not changing.”
Ukip home affairs spokeswoman Jane Collins said: “To think that we spend billions in overseas aid when there are people in this country who, according to this police officer, might not get a visit from someone if they are fit, healthy and speak English – regardless of the fact they are a victim of a crime. It is a twisted set of priorities.”
Ex-police officer Paul Lloyd said: “I spent six years in the Met. Police stations are closing and police numbers dropping. I predict in the next few years civil insurrection, more riots and antisocial behaviour because the anti-social elements know they can get away with whatever they choose.”
VICTIMS of crime who do not speak English will be given priority when it comes to receiving a personal visit from the police because they are deemed to be more vulnerable.
This is the suggestion of a senior officer in the Met as a way of coping with the reduction in funding.
Obviously an inability to speak English is a drawback but this proposal will infuriate many who will rightly see it as yet another example of Britishborn people being penalised while foreigners receive every possible assistance.
Anyone who is the victim of a crime is vulnerable and each of us should expect equal treatment from the police force we all pay for.