Richard Spring MP
Member of Parliament for West Suffolk

We live in a society obsessed with the benefits of technology. Yet there is no substitute for human contact. For example, whilst the intelligence services became over reliant on satellite monitoring, it created minimal understanding of what was really going on on the ground in the Middle East.  

In this country, we have the same issue with the use of CCTV cameras, especially when used for crime prevention. While they are often valuable they can also be counterproductive. The fact is that CCTV is not a replacement for visible policing which not only reassures but also prevents crime. Police officers get to know their communities properly.

However, police officers now spend far more time on paperwork than on the beat. It is estimated that 1.3 million police hours are spent every year on paperwork. At a time of rising violent crime we need to rip up the forms that are preventing our police from patrolling our streets.

We need to support officers on the street, by giving them greater operational discretion to stop and search. It takes police officers, on average, seven minutes to fill in the appropriate form every time they stop someone. This needs to be abolished.

We have an overcrowding crisis in our prisons, a cut in funding for drug rehabilitation programmes, and a near meltdown in the youth justice system. Our prison system is unable to cope with the spiralling levels of violent crime. More prison spaces are desperately needed and there needs to be much more focus on rehabilitation.

In recent years it has been difficult for Conservatives to raise these issues effectively. But growing public concern and the failure of the Government in tackling these problems have led to a change in the climate of public opinion. If we are to reclaim our streets then we must start with cutting the police bureaucracy which is so undermining their efforts, and the confidence of the public.

Yesterday I spoke to the Chief Constable, Simon Ash, to express my support for the police in Suffolk. 

What is the point of the Independent Police Arbitration Tribunal if Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, refuses to accept its recommendations? The Government has turned its back on what the police force believed was an agreed deal. It is the first time a Government has not accepted the tribunal’s recommendations for 28 years. 

It is little wonder that the Police Federation, which represents 140,000 officers in England and Wales and who feel so unappreciated by the Government, have passed a vote of no confidence in the Home Secretary. The total saving to the taxpayer of reneging on the deal is only £30 million; set against the fury it has caused. 

At a time when violent crime is spiralling, the bravery and courage of our policemen and women is exceptional. They should be treated fairly, honestly and openly - with the respect they deserve. Instead Jacqui Smith has shown disrespect verging on professional dereliction. 

Here in Suffolk, our police; like every where else, are being hamstrung by inordinate red tape and bureaucracy which prevents them from being on the beat. 

Police officers have written dozens of letter of complaint to me about their sense of betrayal, which I understand and support.

On Friday, I sat in on a meeting between a GP, a specialist police officer and a young man with significant problems. He came from a local wholly dysfunctional family, immersed in substantial abuse and criminality. He had been a prolific offender to feed a heroin addiction costing about £65 per day. It ruined his life. He is on methadone and diazepan but still buys a limited quantity of heroin from time to time. He has been warned that this is life threatening. He is struggling to cope with household bills. Mercifully, he is off crime.

Incredibly he was encouraged by a bank to open an account and was given a credit card. That pushed him into overspending. The GP and the police officer were helping him on every level. It was moving and yet very depressing; it was part of a focused crime relief effort.

Drugs are the root cause of so much youth crime. Throwing people into jail will achieve little if not complemented by specific educational, health, crime reduction and rehabilitation objectives. We fail to get a grip on this at our peril. 

Last week a hugely amusing and enjoyable 50^th birthday party took place for Keith Vaz MP, so well known in particular in the Asian community, and latterly new best friend of Shilpa Shetty. The Lord Chancellor Charlie Falconer teased Keith (known sometimes as Vazeline) for being on the campaign teams of all seven candidates for the deputy leadership of the Labour party.

Perhaps it is now eight, since the Labour Chairman Hazel Blears announced her candidature. She has had to go on television repeatedly of late to explain the latest Government fiasco and to her credit she has looked cheerful and enthusiastic, no mean feat.

However, I have a certain experience to report. When the Government sought so obsessively to regionalise the police forces there was uproar in Suffolk as elsewhere. A group of MPs from Suffolk went to see her and all we heard about was Manchester and Salford. She had dragged in some toadying Chief Constable who told us how desirable it would be. The meeting showed she had no clue about life outside the big cities. But my biggest regret was not being able to tell the Uncle Tom policeman what I thought of him and the oleaginous drivel he spouted. Happily, the idea which Hazel and the Chief Constable were so eagerly promoting was dropped, and thank goodness for that.