Burgled? Police will turn up quicker if you're upset

Daily mail 4th November 2008

Burglary victims can expect a visit from the police within 60 minutes - but only if they are upset or ' vulnerable', the Government will say today.

Homeowners who are not distressed could wait 48 hours for an arranged visit 'at a time that fits in with your life'.

The guidelines are among ten new police 'pledges' to the public to be unveiled by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith this morning.



The pledges also include a commitment that neighbourhood policing teams - who are supposed to spend their time patrolling the streets - will be visible for 80 per cent of the time.

It means they will still spend a fifth of their shift out of public view. Officers should be at the scene of an emergency 999 call - such as a violent attack or rape - within 15 minutes in an urban area, or 20 minutes in a rural community.

But, for non-emergency calls, the response times can be significantly longer. The pledge will say that, 'if attendance is needed' the police will 'send a patrol giving you an estimated time of arrival. If you are vulnerable or upset, officers will aim to be with you within 60 minutes'.

But it adds: 'Alternatively, if appropriate, we will make an appointment to see you at a time that fits in with your life and within 48 hours. 'If agreed that attendance is not necessary we will give you advice, answer your questions and / or put you in touch with someone who can help.'

Other commitments include treating the public 'fairly', with 'dignity and respect', and involving them in setting local policing priorities. Neighbourhood Policing Teams will be 'visible and on your patch at times when they will be most effective'.

The pledge says: 'We will ensure your team are not taken away from neighbourhood business more than is absolutely necessary. They will spend at least 80 per cent of their time visibly working in your neighbourhood, tackling your priorities.'

There is also a commitment to regularly publish local crime maps. Miss Smith will be hoping the pledges, to be issued across the country by the end of the year, will restore battered public trust in the police.

Last month, it emerged four in ten victims of crime do not currently receive a visit from an officer. And a report by the Civitas think-tank also warned middle class people have lost confidence in the police.

It found that responses to crimes such as burglary are slow and statements given by victims of serious crime are often left lying idle for months.

Meanwhile, complaints against police officers in England and Wales have risen to record levels.

Miss Smith said: 'The public have told us what they want from policing and the justice system - services that listen and act on their priorities.'



But Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said: 'This re-hashed re-announcement is typical of a government that has run out of ideas.

'On the one hand, it includes policy proposals - such as crime-mapping - copied directly from the Conservatives.

'On the other hand, attempts to prescribe quotas and response times look like the return of discredited Whitehall targets under another name.'

A leaked early version of the pledge, saying police should respond to emergency calls within three hours and attend less urgent incidents within three days, was withdrawn earlier this year amid fierce criticism.