‘I don’t feel safe in my town’: Home Secretary Yvette Cooper addresses UK residents concerns over policing

National World - LocalTV

As part of NationalWorld’s Silent Crime campaign, residents went to the the Home Office to speak to Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper and Policing Minister Diana Johnson.

Transcript

00:00There is no response from the police to ordinary crime.

00:04And as a police officer who's very proud to be a police officer,

00:08it saddens me. And what worries me is you start to do things,

00:12and I'm so pleased you are going to do things.

00:15If you don't lift the spirits of those rank-and-file officers,

00:19they will just think, oh God, we've got another thing to do.

00:23You have to take them with you because they are demoralised.

00:27I don't feel safe to go out. I was just saying before,

00:30I will not go down to Blackpool Town Centre on my own

00:34because I don't feel safe, and it shouldn't have to be like that.

00:37My town's in my constituency, which is West Yorkshire,

00:40and Diana said they feel the same in Hull,

00:43and it's the same things right round the country.

00:46Talk to people in Norwich, talk to people in Burnage.

00:49All over the country, you have the same sorts of stories.

00:52Town centres, neighbourhood police, we don't see the police on the beat.

00:56We're just determined to go back to that neighbourhood policing,

01:00have a proper guarantee of neighbourhood policing,

01:03and I'd like to see it start with town centre patrols

01:06because I think it's that town centre confidence

01:09that you have to be able to tackle antisocial behaviour.

01:12Well, I think it was really good to meet Annie and Brian and Tim

01:16and hear their experiences.

01:18Sadly, those experiences I've heard so many times before,

01:22and in my own constituency in Hull, but in other areas of the country,

01:26that antisocial behaviour that causes such upset, distress in communities

01:31and can really affect people,

01:34having to live with either motorbikes or drug-taking

01:38or just that kind of antisocial behaviour on the street,

01:41people drinking, things like that.

01:43So, unfortunately, this is far too common, and that's why we need to take action.

01:48Feeling quite positive, actually.

01:51She's a lovely lady, and she did listen,

01:55and I'm feeling hopeful that we are going to get somewhere

01:59with the crime and the lack of policing,

02:02and I think she will help us. Don't you, Brian?

02:05I agree, yes. She's a very affable lady,

02:08did seem to be really interested in what we had to say,

02:13did seem quite knowledgeable about the issues that we raised.

02:18And Tim, obviously, you're a former police officer.

02:22How did you feel about what was said,

02:25and what your hopes are for the future?

02:28I feel reassured that they understand the scale of the problem,

02:32the deterioration in the police service over the last 13 years

02:36since austerity kicked in.

02:38So they've got a big job, and they know that,

02:41and I'll be interested to see how quickly they make progress.

02:45But getting police officers back on the streets,

02:48doing frontline duties to try and reduce this silent crime

02:52that we're talking about is so, so important to communities.

02:56So, fingers crossed.

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