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

Category: Police & Crime Commissioner

  • Consultation on taxi licensing to protect passengers.

    ‘The current taxi licensing system is unfit for purpose and requires an urgent re-think’ says Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird, following today’s (12, February, 2019) government announcement to launch a consultation on rules to improve passenger safety.

    Dame Vera has repeatedly expressed concerns over the granting of taxi licences and the application of licensing conditions, which vary from authority to authority. Currently this means that a driver who is refused a licence in one local authority may get one from a less strict council and apply for trade in the area which thought they were unfit to run a taxi in the first place. Whilst most taxi drivers are responsible and honest there has been taxi driver involvement in large scale sexual exploitation wherever it has been found. This ability to play one council off against another increases the risk of unsuitable people getting into a position of trust which they can abuse.

    In recent years, alongside all six local councils, she has called on the government to introduce tighter controls, including the introduction of a national database and consistent national criteria for handing out licences.

    In 2017, she championed the issue further in her role as Association of Police and Crime Commissioner (APCC) Chair, lobbying the government for new statutory guidance relating to how public authorities exercise their licensing functions on taxi and private vehicle hire legislation, in order to enhance protection for children and vulnerable adults.

    Dame Vera, said: “The issue of taxi licenses has troubled me for some time. Clearly no-one with a sexual or indecency conviction should be getting behind the wheel of a taxi either – clear and simple. A system with the potential laxity that allows for anyone with such a history to slip through the net is unfit for purpose and requires an urgent re-think.

    “I will be responding to the consultation in due course and hope it will ultimately deliver a safe, clear and up-to-date licensing structure for the future.”

  • Consultation shows public want investment in policing

    Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner has been consulting with local communities and the clear verdict is – nearly 90% of residents want to see more investment in policing.

    Residents were also asked if they would pay 31p a week more towards policing for a Band A property or 46p per week more towards policing for a Band D property to fund Northumbria Police

    * The telephone survey reported 71% agreed to pay an increase towards policing.

    * Face to face interviews reported 87% agreed to pay an increase towards policing.

    * On-line survey reported 56% agreed to pay an increase towards policing.

    Dame Vera said: “Local residents value the work our police do, they are always there when we need them most and that is appreciated.”

    The Treasury recently announced how much funding Northumbria police would receive for 2019-20. That announcement works on the assumption that the Police and Crime Commissioner will increase the council tax precept by £24 per year for a Band D property – although 56% of properties in Northumbria are Band A where the rise would be £16 a year.

    If this increase does not occur Northumbria Police will have £9.4 million less in the year ahead. The public response to our survey makes clear that they are prepared to pay more though many agree with the Commissioner that the government should be paying and not local residents. So the Police Precept increase will be £16 for a Band A property (£24 for Band D). The decision was approved by the Police and Crime Panel unanimously on Tuesday 5th February 2019, which is made up of two members from each of the local authorities that cover the Northumbria Police force and two independent members.

    The cost of delivering policing in Northumbria is the lowest in England and Wales by a considerable margin, the yearly cost for Band A properties will be £89.55, whereas the expected average across England and Wales will be around £146.12. (Band D cost in Northumbria will be £134.33 and the expected average across England and Wales will be around £219.19).

    Dame Vera said: “The Chief Constable and I continue to take tough decisions every day to make ends meet – we have listened carefully to local residents and we will invest the money into policing including new officers and police staff, and the retention of roles originally planned to be lost.”

    Dame Vera added: “Increasing the precept by 31p per week for Band A residents, the majority, isn’t an easy decision, but our consultation showed that as long as the money went into Northumbria Police, residents were agreeable to paying a little more.”

    Going forward, Dame Vera will challenge the Home Secretary to sort out Police funding once and for all, demanding that he puts an open and transparent funding package in place that recognised the uniqueness of Northumbria’s communities – whilst not charging local residents more. Dame Vera has written to the Home Secretary calling for an urgent meeting.

    Over the next 12 months, the Commissioner and Chief Constable will look to make further efficiencies to build up reserves, to allow the force to deal with any emergency situations that may arise.

    Chief Constable, Winton Keenen said: “Tough decisions have had to be taken to make ends meet, residents have said they want to keep officers in the heart of our communities and this decision will help us to do that. The next 12 months won’t be easy, but the right decisions will be taken to protect our communities.”

    The Chair of the Police and Crime Panel, Councillor Angela Douglas said “It is clear that after consultation with local residents, the Police and Crime Commissioner reluctantly proposed this increase, due to the government not putting in place a proper funding package. The Panel recognises the need to ensure our police force is fit for purpose and we are supporting the Commissioner to keep a high performing police force delivering for our communities”.

  • Welcoming the Domestic Abuse Bill.

    Vera Baird QC welcomes the domestic abuse Bill in particular banning alleged perpetrators from personally cross examining their partner in family courts

    Dame Vera Baird said: “When that happens the court is allowing the perpetrator to use its processes as a tool to tighten control over the victim, showing her that even the court thinks how he behaves to her is acceptable and she will not win her freedom. Remember family cases are held in private, often in small rooms where the perpetrator can hurl questions at her at barely arms length. Stopping that is long overdue but it wont stop her being harassed in the inevitable joint waiting room before the case starts nor the obvious undermining of her ability to give her best evidence if she has to be face to face at close quarters with someone who may have been abusing her for years. The criminal courts have had special measures to protect against these abuses since 1999. I hope the government will accept amendments to the Bill so that they finally play their role in the family courts too.

    “The rest of the Bill and the accompanying Government response to the consultation, rightly place focus on raising public awareness of domestic abuse, protecting victims and improving how justice is delivered for domestic abuse cases. These are clearly the right areas in which there is a need for stronger action.

    “Turning special measures into an automatic right in prosecutions is excellent and further makes the point about how poor the family courts are for not having them at all. How can they be a right in one court and not a right in another? Now Police will be able to tell complainants from the start that they can give their evidence from a remote centre, without attending court, avoiding the risk of coming across the defendant or his family, whilst those who want to go to court will be able to choose to testify from behind a screen. Which specific measures apply to which complainants are matters for the judge but the automatic entitlement will mean that people will always get the help they need to give their evidence confidently, without fear.

    “Domestic Abuse Protection Orders will replace Domestic Violence Protection orders and breach of the new orders will be a criminal offence. That is a good step because these orders are to keep a perpetrator away from a victim whilst s/he has a breathing space from abuse and can call in professional help. Breaching such an order will often show that the perpetrator is determined to keep the complainant under their control and ought to be met with a criminal penalty.

    Here in Northumbria we work hard to support domestic abuse victims and tackle their issues and it is clear that these measures will add to the toolbox of measures available to make sure that justice can be done and perpetrators dealt with. The government has to attach a significant budget to make this bill work and i hope they are putting a sound bid into the CSR next year”

  • HOME SECRETARY FAILS NORTH EAST COMMUNITIES – say North East PCCs

    The three Police and Crime Commissioners for the North East have today slammed the Home Secretary for increasing council tax bills to fund policing, instead of the Government providing a fair funding settlement for the communities of Cleveland, Durham & Darlington and Northumbria.

    Residents across the North East of England are facing a significant increase to the policing element of council tax as a consequence of the Government announcing that PCCs will be allowed to increase the precept by up to £24 per year for a Band D property. If this increase does not go ahead, it could mean a funding cut for the region’s three forces.

    The three PCCs are once again demanding that the Home Secretary stops making hard working families pay for policing, when it is the duty of the Government to provide effective policing and keep our communities safe – a point with which PCCs from all political parties agree. In simple terms, the Government funding package for each force assumes that PCCs will increase the precept up to £24. If the PCCs don’t it will result in a cut to the funding received to pay for policing in the North East.

    North East police forces are some of the busiest in the country and yet continue to be underfunded by central Government, having all seen funding losses of more than 30 per cent resulting in almost 2,000 fewer police officers on the streets of Northumbria, County Durham, Darlington and Cleveland since 2010.

    Commenting on the announcement, Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner for Durham and Darlington, Ron Hogg, said “The Government has not increased the amount it pays for policing – it has put all the burden on council tax payers. In areas like mine, the majority of properties are in Council Tax Band A, which means that those with the lowest incomes are being asked to pay the largest part of the increase. I would compare that to areas like Surrey, where there are many more properties in the top council tax band, lived in by people with very significantly higher incomes.”

    Cleveland PCC Barry Coppinger added “I do not want to increase the precept for residents in Cleveland, but under this settlement I am left with very little choice and it simply isn’t fair. Once again, residents in the most deprived areas are being asked to foot the bill for the country’s underfunded police forces, as the Government once again fail to account for the increasing cost of policing and levels of inflation. I will continue to lobby the Government and push for a fairer deal for all of our forces. Cleveland has some of the highest levels of crime and deprivation in the country, yet our overall level of funding increase for next year is £7.2m and Surrey’s is by £17.6m – over £10m more. How can an area with 60 per cent higher level of recorded crime be treated so unfairly?”

    Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird QC, said: “It is completely wrong for our police forces to be in this position. I wanted the Government to put in place a fair funding formula – they refused. Once again they are moving the burden of proper police funding onto hard-pressed council tax payers through the police precept. £24 a year is an increase of a quarter on the burden on local families who deserve better, but we do not want instead to be forced to make yet more cuts to our vital policing services. I will start 2019 consulting with local residents to see what extra they feel should be implemented in Northumbria.”

    The three PCCs will consult with their communities to find out what they think. None of the region’s PCCs have taken a decision on this matter yet, this will happen after the consultation closes. In the meantime the three PCCs will seek an urgent meeting with the Home Secretary, speaking up for local residents and demanding change to the funding formula.

  • Northumbria PCC’s Response to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons Stakeholder Survey 2018

    The annual survey invites stakeholders to give their views on all aspects of the work of HM Inspectorate of Prisons over the last 12 months.

    To read the PCC’s questionnaire response, please click on the following link:

  • BAIRD SLAMS CPS

    Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird QC responds to reports that Prosecutors have been urged to ditch “weak” rape cases to improve figures.

    Dame Vera Baird said “This approach is completely hostile to the principle of access to justice. The point of the CPS is to bring fair prosecutions, not to deliberately avoid bringing them and to abandon hundreds of victims, in order to make their conviction rate look better.

    I would be very surprised if there isn’t a judicial review here in the public interest.

    If the CPS think that this will make them look better to the public they need to think again. How appalling to put the appearance of their organisation before their obligations to the public.

    The CPS have reportedly been told to take “350 cases out of the system in order to increase their conviction rate 61%“. Before this diktat, these 350 cases seemingly would have passed the necessary test to be prosecuted (a greater than 50% likelihood of conviction by a jury). It seems that rape cases will now require a 60%, 70% or 80% likelihood of conviction – but only rape cases.

    The CPS knows that myths about woman and rape are rife amongst jurors as with the public at large. Their job is to use insight and skill to overcome these obstacles to justice. The reaction from some CPS staff shows their own shock at being told to stop trying and only prosecute rock solid certainties.

    Cases involving younger or more vulnerable complainants or those with mental health issues will all be in the “too difficult category” as set out by Messrs McGill and More. There couldn’t be a clearer signal to predatory criminals that if they abuse those victims the state will leave them alone. And there couldn’t be a more damaging sign of support for the rape myths that are still believed in our society.

    Guardian Article. Prosecutors have been urged to ditch “weak” rape cases to improve figures.

  • Brexit needs the best deal possible, not a no deal!

    As the dark nights start to draw in, I think the Prime Minister will be having many dark days – wondering how to control her rebels over Brexit. The government are making a monumental hash up of this process, it is stumbling from crisis to crisis and as they do this they are failing to see the bigger picture and the damage they are doing to communities across our region.

    In relation to policing, the Home Secretary needs to get a grip and start ensuring the various vital cooperation tools / mechanisms enabling the UK and the EU police forces to work together to prevent and tackle crime and threats to regional and national security are in place. He also needs to address the potential impact on the future incompatibility between EU and UK laws and the rights the UK could lose by falling out of the EU’s jurisdiction and legal framework. We need continued use of shared law enforcement databases and EU arrest warrants which have assisted Northumbria Police on many occasions, nationally last year 1,735 arrests were made in the UK and more than 10,000 people have been extradited since 2004. In 2017 the Schengen Information System (SIS) which is a European database used by the police to search for terrorist suspects, missing people and to check vehicle registrations and passport details was checked nearly 540 million times by police officers in the UK – it’s imperative that the Home Secretary and his department ensure that these services are still available to Northumbria Police after March 2019. Northumbria Police plays a vital role in national security and the safety of the public in our region and we can’t allow the good work police officers and staff undertake be put in jeopardy if the government doesn’t get its act together to ensure detailed arrangements are in place – we work with partners to tackle crime such as human trafficking and serious organised crimes and police officers need the tools to get the job done, not Boris and his cronies fighting for the next media headline.

    Theresa May now needs to move away from accepting a possible “no deal” outcome on Brexit, as this will cause chaos and confusion for policing and security services. She has a duty to deliver the best deal possible that will ensure the continued safety of residents. We are fast approaching March 2019 and policing needs considerable additional resources at a local and national level for policing to operate using non-EU services, and in all reality, whatever is put in place to deal with a no-deal outcome will be an inferior standard to what is already in place. It is hoped that the government and EU will have agreed terms for leaving by October – that’s very optimistic as there is a great more deal work to be done.

    I agree fully with Richard Martin, deputy assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan police and the NPCC lead on Brexit, when he said “it is in the interests of both sides to negotiate an arrangement that allows for continued close working, whether as part of existing mechanisms or negotiated alternatives. Without such arrangements, both UK police and EU member states will lose capabilities including identifying criminals and missing persons who cross our borders, detaining and swiftly surrendering suspects under EAWs, quickly identifying previous history of offending or the sharing biometric data”

    There is a job to be done, Theresa May needs to get on with it and I stand with other Labour Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales demanding it is done with the interests of safety and delivering effective policing running through the heart of any deal.

  • 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”.