30
Apr
2013
By Calvin at 13:14 GMT, 13 years ago
Tom Winsor yesterday used his first major speech as HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary to explain his approach to the job, and how HMIC may be expected to operate in the new policing landscape.
The Chief Inspector, who spoke at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI), discussed the model of British policing; the changing dynamic environment; the pressures and challenges which the police face; and the role of HMIC in serving the public interest.
In the course of a wide-ranging speech, Mr Winsor stated that: “HMIC’s focus is on the public interest, and we look at policing from the point of view of the public which it serves; that is our statutory remit, and we will honour it”; and “the prevention of crime is the primary purpose of policing, and this purpose should never be forgotten or diluted.”
He also discussed the need to improve the current ‘fragmented state’ of the technology available to help police officers as they work to prevent crime, and emphasised the need to keep consideration for victims of crime or anti-social behaviour at the heart of the criminal justice system.
HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Tom Winsor, said:
“It is the role of HMIC to examine, assess and report on all aspects of policing in terms of their efficiency and effectiveness. Through inspections professionally and fairly executed, we will use the powers given to us by Parliament to enable and facilitate the work of police forces in the prevention of crime and antisocial behaviour to the greatest extent reasonably practicable, and in disrupting, pursuing and apprehending offenders, so as to restore both the perception and the reality of the safety of citizens in their homes and their communities.”
The full speech is available to download from www.hmic.gov.uk/publication/policing-in-the-new-dynamic-environment-speech-20130429
TCPW Comment:
Those of you who saw Mr Winsor interviewed on BBC News yesterday morning will have heard him emphasise the importance of crime prevention, stating that it was the primary purpose of the police. The interviewer then asked Mr Winsor 'whose priority it was then to catch criminals?*%!!!' What a ridiculous question! Mr Winsor politely responded and, in the short time that he had left, presumably just managed to get over the points he wanted to make. This TV interview coincided with his first major speech as HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary and it’s a shame the BBC didn’t give him a little more airtime. You can see the disappointingly short interview at this link to the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22333662
