Vera Baird DBE KC

Chair Criminal Cases Review Commission. Member Women’s Justice Bd.
Ex Victims’ Commissioner, Solicitor Gen & PCC. Fellow St Hilda’s Oxford. Writer. Labour Party

Author: VBoffice

  • Tory “Summer of Discontent” – We need change NOW!

    The sun has certainly been blazing down – in the world of politics you could be forgiven for thinking this is Theresa May’s “Summer of Discontent” – she lost Boris from the Foreign Office, she lost David from the Brexit Office, her great plan for Brexit that she drew up at Chequers is now nigh on defunct and to add to her problems, she hosted Donald Trump and inflicted him on the Queen! There is a serious point to this – this government moves from crisis to crisis and is stumbling along at the behest of MPs like Jacob Rees Mogg, Tory politics at the moment reminds me of the final days of John Major’s government. We need to be on standby, I know the Labour Party is ready for whenever the General Election may be called, lets hope it is sooner rather than later.

    Towards the end of July the government announced it will raid the already under funded budgets of schools, hospitals, prisons, police services and armed forces for what amounts to a real terms pay cut for many of our public servants who work in them. The Tories continue to cut these services and the pay settlement that they announced will also mean further real terms pay cuts for our police officers, some teachers, doctors and dentists as inflation runs at 2.4%.

    The Government needs to get its act together when it comes to pay settlements – they need to be properly funded, Theresa May cannot expect me to raid what little reserves I hold for emergencies or headteachers to spend the full school budget with no room for contingencies. Let me say loud and clear, our police officers, police staff and all public servants deserve a pay rise and I want that to happen and the government needs to ensure they fund it by making the money available. The government have shown (again) that they don’t believe that officers are worthy of the recommendations of the independent pay review body, and the announcement is another real-terms cut to officers pay. I am annoyed that the Home Secretary is threatening yet more cutbacks to front line policing as he won’t pay for the increase.

    I will take this battle to the very heart of government, I will continue to do what ever I have to do to get the very best deal for our police officers and staff – however, on the past record of the Tory government I suspect not much will change. I had hoped that as the new Home Secretary’s brother is a senior police officer he knows the value of funding properly our police service.

    Our schools, prisons, hospitals and police have faced the brunt of Tory austerity, our public servants are over worked and under paid. Something has to change and I sincerley hope it will be a change of Prime Minister. Labour has committed to not accepting any pay deal that cuts the salaries of our public sector employees and starves the public services that we all rely upon of the funding they need. Labour’s manifesto at the last election pledged to end the cap and budgeted for above inflation pay increases for public sector workers. Under Labour, public sector pay will be set by genuinely independent pay review bodies or through collective bargaining.

    Our values are the right ones for our country, we need that General Electon to make it happen.

  • Why MP Chope was wrong…….

    As June comes to a close, we have seen the Tories losing control through the actions of Sir Christopher Chope MP – he shouted out the word “object” which stopped the bill to make upskirting a specific sexual offence under English law. His reason for stopping the bill, was that he wasn’t aware of the detail. That’s his problem, Chope is a prolific objector to Private Members Bills – this particular bill had the support of his own government, however,he used the feeble excuse that as a Minister supported the bill, it didn’t need to be brought to the House through a private members’ bill.

    I’m afraid that Chope is wrong, the second reading of a bill is the stage at which the Commons should approve its general principles, with scrutiny on its detail at a later stage. Of course, there may be discussions to be had about the precise drafting of the bill, but the general principle of criminalising upskirting is not is dispute. Chope should hang his head in shame and offer every woman an apology for his actions – thankfully there is another opportunity for the bill to progress in July, let’s hope Chope is on constituency business that day!

    Not content with scuppering one bill, he continued to do it to five or six others – including “Finn’s Law”. I wrote to the Justice Secretary back in March urging him to support “Finn’s Law”, which the Environment Secretary had agreed to do. The bill would protect police horses, police dogs and guide dogs from attack and ensure those who attack service animals are jailed for up to five years. However, the bill was blocked as Chope stated his objection – only he knows his logic in taking this action. Thankfully, fingers crossed, it will pass on July 6th.

    Mental health is something that can affect us all at some stage and it’s important that support is in place for those who may need extra help. I wanted my office to show a positive attitude to employees and job applicants with mental health issues, I was therefore delighted to sign up the OPCC to become a mindful employer.

    At least 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their life. A survey by Mind revealed that nearly 9 in 10 (87 per cent) emergency services staff and volunteers surveyed have experienced stress, low mood and poor mental health at some point while working for the emergency service.

    As a signatory of the Mindful Employer charter, organisations should work towards ensuring that all staff involved in recruitment and selection are briefed on mental health issues and The Equality Act 2010, and given appropriate interview skills. Equally, all line managers should have information and training about managing mental health in the workplace.
    Even though we are a relatively small office, it’s important that we make an ongoing commitment to the well-being of our team and those who apply to work with us. That’s why we’ve signed up to the Mindful Employer charter. I’m serious about giving our employees access to help and support they may need, when they need it.

  • OPCC signs up as a Mindful Employer

    The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria has signed up as a Mindful Employer.

    Commissioner Dame Vera Baird QC is now a signatory for the voluntary charter, which encourages organisations to show a positive attitude to employees and job applicants with mental health issues.

    The Commissioner joins almost 1,900 organisations that have joined the charter for employers who are positive about mental health since it was launched in 2004.

    At least 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their life. A survey by Mind revealed that nearly 9 in 10 (87 per cent) emergency services staff and volunteers surveyed have experienced stress, low mood and poor mental health at some point while working for the emergency service.

    As a signatory of the Mindful Employer charter, organisations should work towards ensuring that all staff involved in recruitment and selection are briefed on mental health issues and The Equality Act 2010, and given appropriate interview skills. Equally, all line managers should have information and training about managing mental health in the workplace.

    Dame Vera Baird QC said: “We are a relatively small office but it’s important that we make an ongoing commitment to the well-being of our team and those who apply to work with us. That’s why we’ve signed up to the Mindful Employer charter. We are serious about giving our employees access to help and support they may need, when they need it.

    “People who have mental health issues may have experienced discrimination in the recruitment process – we want to make it that in Northumbria, we show a positive and enabling attitude to employees and job applicants with mental health issues”.

    In 2016 PCC Vera Baird signed the Blue Light Time to Change Pledge on behalf of Northumbria Police demonstrating their commitment to challenge mental health stigma and promote positive wellbeing within the service. That year Northumbria also joined the UK’s first emergency service mental health network after Tyneside and Northumberland Mind secured £100,000 in funding to create a North East mental health network for the emergency services.

  • North East PCCs call to reduce the breathalyser limit

    Today, the government has announced a number of measures to improve road safety – but miss out one important factor, reducing the limit. The three North East PCCs welcome any initiative that will help make our roads safer, but Commissioner Baird, along with her colleagues, Ron Hogg, PCC for Durham and Barry Coppinger, PCC for Cleveland have reinforced their call for the government to lower the drink drive limit.

    Dame Vera Baird said “Scotland have already lead the way in reducing the drink drive limit to 50mg and it has had a real positive effect. In the first three months of the new limit, offences went down by 17%. If the government really want to make our roads safer, new legislation to reduce the drink drive limit will achieve this”

    Commissioner Hogg added “The three PCCs for the North East are determined to do all that we can to make our roads safer – we will continue to work in partnership to encourage government to take the common sense approach of reducing the limit that will make our roads safer”.

    Cleveland’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Barry Coppinger said “Lowering the limit would save an estimated £300 million nationally every year, by reducing the cost of the police and ambulance services and cutting hospital admissions. This money could be reinvested back in to our emergency services”

    The three North East Police and Crime Commissioners will continue to lobby government, encouraging them to take the common sense approach of reducing the drink drive limit to ensure safety on our roads

  • Commissioner Baird calls on Home Secretary to take lead from Scottish Government

    Labour MSPs have successfully ensured that the Scottish Government will hold an independent review into the actions of the police during the miners’ strike in Scotland.

    Dame Vera Baird QC, Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria who was one of the barristers defending northern miners in the Orgreave Trial and who also acted in many other cases has given her support to the Scottish Government, and reiterated her call for the new Home Secretary to get a grip and order an inquiry into Orgreave and police conduct there, and in the many hundreds of other cases in which miners were prosecuted during the strike. An IPCC investigation found that there were many issues to pursue, which were, in effect, too big for their remit and those findings have never been taken on by the government. The former Home Secretary dismissed calls for a public inquiry with no reasoning to justify it and to the pain of the many families who still feel the effects of their loved ones having undergone often lengthy periods under threat of charges carrying life or very long sentences

    Back in May 2016, Dame Vera urged the then Home Secretary, Theresa May, to put in place a structure to ensure an honest, open and transparent investigation.

    Today, Dame Vera said “The Scottish Government has taken a proper and wise decision to launch a review to establish if the arrests and convictions were unjust and politically motivated. This is exactly the same reasons why many have argued for an independent inquiry into the brutal clashes between police and miners during the strike in 1984, not least at Orgreave where so many questions still need to be answered.

    The damage done to Scottish and Orgreave miners, most of whom had never been involved with the criminal justice system before devastated not only their lives, but those of their families’ too while also scarring pit communities until this day”.

    Dame Vera added “The new Home Secretary can right the wrongs of his Tory predecessors, by getting justice for the miners of Orgreave and other cases. He needs to authorise the release of papers to allow Orgreave to be fully resolved. This is a situation in which Scotland is leading in the right way and the Westminster Government should share that governments understanding of the abiding sense of injustice which prevails and should follow suit

    Dame Vera added “This is a simple task, and the Home Secretary should action the independent review for the files to be released as a matter of urgency”.

  • Google and others – need to get it right!

    It’s of great concern that internet providers such as Google are helping users uncover the identity of rape and sexual assault victims – who by law, have their anonymity protected for life.

    Here in the North East, a case involving footballer, Adam Johnson saw his victim named on social media, (at times assisted by Google algorithm which anticipates what a person is looking for) – this is a clear a breach of the law and social media / search engine companies need to be accountable for their actions, they need to be doing far more than they are to take down names and report offenders to the police. Twitter has the power to block certain names from appearing on their site and to take material down when instructed to do so by the Home Office – this is the sort of firm action that needs to be taken by providers of search engines and social media companies, however, they shouldn’t wait for an instruction from the Home Office, they should be ensuring that the law is adhered to on their platforms.

    We all have a role in ensuring that the anonymity law is respected by the media (in whatever format). During the Adam Johnson investigation, the former editor of the Sun newspaper was convicted of breaching the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act after a pixelated photograph of the victim was printed by the tabloid. No matter how pixelated the photograph, it is wrong for an editor to merely claim that he did not know he was committing an offence. The Judge correctly identified that it would have still been possible for the teenager to be identifiable by people familiar with her Facebook profile. Durham Police at the time said “ What Dinsmore did in the Sun was legally and morally wrong. As a victim of a sexual offence, the identity of this child should have been protected. Instead her picture, although pixelated, was plastered across a national tabloid. She was not fair game, she was a child who was groomed by a person in power for his own sexual gratification.”

    Alongside the photo incident, Facebook had been forced to remove a page set up in support of an appeal for Johnson – before it was taken down, it had received over a thousand likes and the page contained critical comments about the victim. I fully appreciate that this is a difficult crime to tackle, but something needs to be done. Complainants in sex offence cases have automatic lifelong anonymity and breaching this law currently brings with it a fine of up to £5000. However, this deals with the problem after the event, we need action when it happens.

    In 2012, a Juror was jailed for six months for discussing a trial, another example was where a man received a suspended jail term for tweeting images purporting to identify a man given life-long anonymity. We need the police to work much more closely with social media / search engine providers, as a society we want to embrace the good of the internet, but we must also be willing to address the harm that it brings. These cases are only the tip of the iceberg and nationally we need to take action. I have sent a copy of this article to the new Home Secretary to see how his department can support local police forces. We also need “buy in” from the likes of Twitter and Facebook – just because they are “hosted” outside this country doesn’t mean they are immune to UK law – if it can be read and shared in the United Kingdom they must adhere by our laws.

    Northumbria Police are committed to doing all they can to support victims. Now we need funding from central government to address what is in effect a “cyber-crime”.

    The Home Secretary also needs to present to Parliament proposals for stronger sentences against those who reveal victims’ names, the men who named the complainant in the Ched Evans case were ordered to pay £624 in compensation each, this weak judgement gives others confidence to break the law and we need to stop that.

  • Article for North Tyneside BaNTer. Printed 26th April 2018.

    After months of hard work, delivering election literature and newsletters in all sorts of weather, polling day is nearly here. Across North Tyneside we have outstanding Labour candidates in every ward, putting across a strong message that a Labour council really does make a difference. You only have to look at the regeneration schemes underway, the improvements in school standards and the extra support to elderly and vulnerable people – such services don’t just happen, they happen because it is Labour beliefs and values held by our councillors that make sure every resident of North Tyneside receives a “fair deal” against a backdrop of Conservative cuts.

    The choice is clear on May 3rd – keep taking North Tyneside forward with a Labour Council or backwards with broken local Tory promises. I hope that you will spend the last few days of the campaign urging your friends and family to support their local Labour candidate.

    This year is the 100th anniversary of the first women gaining the vote in the United Kingdom – of course female political progress is longer and more interesting than just 1918 and Labour has been at the forefront of many special occasions. In 1907, the Labour Party backed universal suffrage, in the same year the qualification of Women Act allowed widows and unmarried women the right to stand anywhere in local government. We salute those elected, which included Sophia Merivale in Oxford, Edith Sutton in Reading and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson in Aldeburgh – it’s amazing to think that rules were in place to stop single women and widows from partaking in the political process. The political career of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson would never have come about if it wasn’t for the Act – she was an incredible women, she was the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon, co-founded the first hospital staffed by women, became a dean of a British Medical School and the first female doctor of medicine in France – and to top off all those achievements she was also the first female magistrate in Britain. Quite an achievement and I’m delighted that her talent was also recognised in local government. The family talent continues to be recognised, just last week in Parliament Square, a statue to honour Elizabeth’s sister, Millicent Fawcett was unveiled. Millicent campaigned for the suffrage – her statue is the first woman ever there. Today of the eight political parties, four have women leaders and Parliament has the first female Black Rod in 650 years. Right across politics, women are making a difference and I’ve been honoured to celebrate past and current achievements by women as part of the 100th anniversary, both locally and nationally. Let’s make it a real celebration in North Tyneside, by encouraging as many women (and men) to support their Labour candidate. I want to see as many Labour councillors returned to North Tyneside Council as possible on May 3rd, supporting the brilliant elected Mayor, Norma Redfearn.

    In relation to policing, a couple of weeks ago it was National Stalking Awareness week and I promoted the great work that is happening here in Northumbria to support victims of this crime. As well as the traditional stalking, many victims endure cyber stalking and are in abusive relationships with partners who are monitoring their behaviour. Some of this monitoring may be very obvious – such as when a victim is forced to hand over their mobile to have their texts or social media posts checked.

    Here in Northumbria, we’ve been working hard and are determined to lead the way and provide best service to victims. I secured funding from the Home Office VAWG transformation fund and in January 2018 this allowed Northumbria Police created a domestic abuse cyber stalking and harassment team.

    The Northumbria team is designed to help victims – both men and women – specifically of domestic abuse who are being abused and harassed by technological means. Initially operating on an 18 month pilot basis, they will be dealing with cases in the Sunderland area but also providing advice and guidance to officers in South Tyneside where cyber stalking is a feature of the case. The initiative also brings together a rape and domestic violence detective with cyber investigation specialists and we have recruited from our great local organisation Wearside Women in Need, an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor, who supports the victim, making sure everything is done in accordance with what she wants and provides civil assistance. Each morning the police team will check ALL domestic abuse reported incidents since they were last on duty for any elements of cyber stalking. This is to ensure that all potential lines of enquiry are being maximised in investigation. The detectives will use forensic analysis of social media, email and other online communications to identify patterns of behaviour, ultimately helping to safeguard victims from coming to further harm.

    My message to victims is do not hesitate to report this kind of crime – Cyber harassment is no less frightening and can be just as threatening as physical stalking. If you know anyone affecting by stalking – please urge them to report it to the police. Specially trained officers are one hand to offer support.

    As I sign off, good luck over the next few days. Make every vote count for Labour.

  • Have your say, make your voice heard – The 2018 National Rural Crime Survey

    Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Dame Vera Baird QC is urging rural communities to take part in a national survey on rural crime.

    It is three years since the last National Rural Crime Survey which revealed how rural communities were affected by crime.

    Here in Northumbria, the police regularly meet residents and businesses who reside in our rural communities, so the National Rural Crime Network (NCRN) provides another opportunity for police officers and the Commissioner to engage with residents.

    The NCRN brings together Police and Crime Commissioners, police forces and organisations that play a key role in rural communities – like the Country Land and Business Association, the National Farmers Union, Neighbourhood Watch, Crimestoppers, Historic England and the Countryside Alliance.

    The aim of the National Rural Crime Network is to help provide greater understanding of the problems and impact of crime in rural communities so more can be done to help them be safe – and feel safe.

    The survey launched today and looks at a number of areas ranging from whether you report crimes that you or your business suffer, to the impact anti-social behaviour has on you and your area.

    It’s all about making sure the voice of rural communities is heard by those who can make a difference to where we live and work – from the Police to Government.

    People have until June 10 to complete the survey which is available online.

    Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird is a member of the National Rural Crime Network and is committed to tackling this crime type.

    She said: “I fully support and welcome this survey which will help address issues and concerns in the heart of the affected communities. Our officers work closely with rural residents and businesses and this survey provides another opportunity for us to see how we can further improve policing.

    “Rural crime is very much a priority for me. Northumbria has large rural areas and the effects this type of crime has on communities within them can be harmful to businesses and locals.

    “I want to reassure all residents that I am dedicated to ensuring that Northumbria Police will continue to work with partners to reduce and tackle rural crime and safeguard vulnerable areas. I look forward to seeing the results of the survey to help us further this aim.”

    To complete the survey and for more information on NRCN visit www.nationalruralcrimenetwork.net

    The results will also feed into the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Rural Affairs National Strategy for 2018-2021 which is due to be launched later this year.

  • Providing effective policing in Northumbria.

    As Chronicle readers will know, I have been lobbying the government hard over their unfair funding for our police service. Since 2010 Northumbria Police have had to endure cuts imposed on us of over £135 million, this has not been an easy challenge. However, the Chief Constable and I have squeezed every penny out of every pound to invest in the priorities that you set in the Police and Crime Plan – we will continue to look for savings.

    The government took their budget cutting even further this year and gave Northumbria a budget that assumed council tax payers would pay £12 a year more for policing for a Band D property (£8 for a Band A property), if I didn’t do what they proposed it would mean over £5 million less for policing in Northumbria and that would be unthinkable. We consulted with many local residents on this proposal and I was heartened that 80% of those we contacted wanted to maintain our excellent policing service and were prepared to pay increase on the police precept.

    Due to the continuous massive cuts, we now have a very small amount of funds in reserve As people will know, every public organisation has to keep some money in reserve ‘for a rainy day”.

    In 2010, the force had over £70 million in reserves, The cuts have been so steep and so deep that we have had to use a large part of those reserves to fund day to day policing – to keep officers on the beat. If reserves had not been used, we would have had to let hundreds more police officers go. By March 2018, the massively depleted force reserves will stand at a little over £9 million and there is a danger that Tory cuts put us in the vulnerable position of not being able to respond to an emergency or to fund major change costs because we don’t have the reserves to do so. CIPFA, the public sector accounting body, recommend reserves of at least 3% of turnover and ours are just on that margin.

    All this talk about poor funding settlements and low reserves can give an impression that things are bad, and I guess they are in relation to pounds and pennies, but our best asset are our people. Thanks to our great police officers, staff and the partners they work with, the communities we serve are some of the safest in the country. Northumbria police always try to go the extra mile and I am grateful to all our staff who make this happen. As I sign off, you have my assurances that we will always put you and your family first.

  • Providing excellent value for money.

    Just before Christmas, right up until last week I’ve been working with my team to find out the views of local residents on the amount of council tax to be paid for local policing – the police precept. As you know, the Government announced that Northumbria Police will receive central grant funding of £222.7m in 2018/19, which reflects government funding being maintained at the same level as 2017/18 – but only if the Police Precept part of the council tax is increased by £12 for Band D properties.
    The Government has determined that total funding for Northumbria (government grant plus precept) of £265.3m can be achieved only if the Police precept part of the local council tax is raised by £12 per year for a Band D property. If the precept is not raised by that amount, there will be a real terms cut to Northumbria Police funding of up to £5.1m. This is in addition to central government funding for Northumbria being reduced by 37% in real terms since 2010.

    In Northumbria people living in a band D property currently pay £98.33 per year in council tax for their police service. A £12.00 per year increase on that figure, as calculated by the Government, would mean an extra 23p a week. Most residents in Northumbria have a band A property and for those the increase would be 15p a week (£8.00 for the full year). Northumbria currently has the lowest police precept of all the 43 police forces in England and Wales, by a very long way due to historical factors.

    Once again the Government is moving the burden of proper police funding on to council tax payers through the police precept. The government are telling me if I don’t increase the precept by the figure they have used in their funding formula, Northumbria will have less money in real terms to spend on priorities such as neighbourhood policing. Our consultation saw us hit the streets all over the Force area, including the shopping area at Four Lane Ends. We also spoke to nearly 700 people on the phone.

    The results were overwhelmingly in favour of the small weekly increase, I am now reviewing all budgets to see where exactly we need to invest money and what the costs will be.

    Can I ask you a favour? Northumbria Police recently introduced “Trauma Teddies” to help children who are in contact with the police at a difficult time. This could be following a traffic accident or when the police deal with domestic abuse incidences. Police hand the youngster a teddy, which offers reassurance and support. They have been so popular that we need more. A pattern has been uploaded on my website (www.northumbria-pcc.gov.uk)so if you could spare a few hours or if you know somebody who likes knitting who might, please let me know.

    Finally, I’ve no doubt that you will be thinking about the local elections. I’m always keen to help our hard working party members. I intend to be out and about across the five authorities where there are elections. Tell me your priority areas and I\’ll get there to work with you when I can and look forward to seeing you. My email address is (qc@verabaird-7in1ycowd9.live-website.com)