Liberal Democrats Pledge 10,000 More Police And 20,000 More Community Support Officers

6.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 18th Apr 2005

The Liberal Democrats today pledged to put 10,000 extra police and 20,000 Community Support Officers (CSOs) on the streets of England, Scotland and Wales - an average of approximately 50 extra police and CSOs on the streets of every constituency.

The Party would scrap Labour's flawed plan to charge people for their identity through compulsory national ID cards.

The Party also pledged to equip officers with hand-held computers and the latest speech recognition technology to cut paperwork and increase the amount of time spent on actual policing.

Liberal Democrat Mr Kennedy said:

"Crime causes real misery for the victims and no set of statistics can measure the human cost of crime.

"The fear of crime undermines whole communities. The elderly and vulnerable can feel defenceless which prevents people from living their lives to the full. That's why our package is based on visible policing.

"Seeing a police or community support officer on patrol provides positive reassurance and an effective deterrent to would-be criminals. 10,000 new police officers and 20,000 new Community Support Officers would make a real difference in every community.

"We need our police officers out in the community, not stuck in the station. In an 8 hour shift, the average police officer only spends an hour and a half on patrol. We need to shift that balance. To help achieve this, we will give the police the technology they need and simplify the bureaucracy they face when reporting."

On international crime, Mr Kennedy added:

"The modern criminal is likely to be linked either directly or indirectly to national or international networks. The Liberal Democrats were the first party to propose a new UK Border Force to help to tackle guns, drugs, terrorism and illegal immigration. Such a force would bring the local police force together with immigration and customs officers at our airports and ports of entry.

"The real liberal approach to law and order issues is tough and smart."

Mark Oaten, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, said:

"Mobile phones and handheld computers are a part of everyday life. But years of mismanagement and under-funding have left the Police without the technology they need to tackle crime.

"While the rest of us are in the internet age, the police are stuck in the age of the paperclip. More time is spent by officers in the station filling in forms than out on the streets cutting crime.

"Liberal Democrats would make sure that every officer who needs a hand-held computer gets one. And we will introduce voice recognition technology to allow officers to complete paperwork on the street without having to return to the station.

"Voice recognition is already in use in 22 UK hospitals. If our doctors have recognised the importance of using the latest technology to improve efficiency and productivity, why are the police so far behind?"