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

Tag: police

  • Labour Conference 2018 Blog.

    It was great to be at Labour Party conference in Liverpool – it’s always good to catch up with old friends, listen to debate and to see CLP delegates from across the country debating Labour Party policy and helping influence our party manifesto that may be needed sooner, rather than later.

    Conference once again shows us why we need a Labour government (not just to clean up the mess the Prime Minister is making of Brexit), the Tories are failing hard working families, real wages are still lower than what they were in 2010 and millions of working families are set to be worse off under Universal Credit. When in government Labour worked hard to end child poverty, since 2010 it has risen by over four million and the Institute for Fiscal Studies projects it will rise by a further million by the end of this Parliament.

    We know it is Labour that will tackle these issues head on, it’s our party that will support work and create a social security system for the many, not the few. The next Labour government will end austerity and introduce a Real Living Wage of £10 an hour by 2020. Labour will pause and fix universal credit and implement a new Child Poverty Strategy. Labour will also lift the Tories’ freeze on social security support which is penalising families, to ensure people get the support they need.

    Conference clearly heard Jeremy’s commitment to rebuild our public services: Years of austerity and privatisation have left our public services in crisis. Labour will rebuild our public services with new investment and properly paid staff. Labour will increase investment in the NHS and social care to tackle the crises caused by the Conservatives. Our party will stop the cuts to school budgets with a real terms increase in funding, introduce universal free school meals for primary school children and get class sizes down to under 30 for all 5, 6 and 7 year olds.

    Right across conference I heard people commenting on these ideas, there was a buzz in fringe meetings about wanting the next general election to be sooner rather than later – as if we get the keys to number 10, we can sort the mess that Tories have created, the next Labour government has committed to putting an extra 10,000 police officers back on the streets in England and Wales. We must never underestimate the Tories, they crave power – but for all the wrong reasons. When a General Election is called, I will be standing ready with you to campaign once again in constituencies across Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, to show the difference our hard working Labour MPs makes. Our members, councillors and trade unionists are our greatest strength, the Shadow Foreign Secretary is on standby for the election to be called by the end of the year – if it is, we must do everything we can to rebuild and improve our public services and only Labour will deliver that change to benefit communities across our region and beyond.

  • 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.

  • Keeping cops on the beat.

    The Police and Crime Panel for Northumbria have unanimously approved the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposed increase to the police precept (the police element of the council tax) of 10p per week for a band D property. The Chief Constable confirms that this figure which is £5 per year will enable him to retain 100 officers over the spending review period of four years.

    Following public consultation, which was mainly complimentary about the police and supportive of the rise, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Vera Baird QC, said:

    “Despite Chancellor Osborne saying that he was not cutting funding to police, the only way in which that is true is if every PCC in the country raises their precept by the maximum amount possible. The Government is telling the ten police forces with the lowest police precept to increase by the sum of £5 per band D house per year and Northumbria is one of those forces.

    “The Chief Constable and I are determined to keep officers on the street and preserve high standards of policing, and as your Commissioner, I’m left with no choice but to raise the precept to ensure the police have the resources to cut crime and continue delivering excellent neighbourhood policing for the people of Northumbria.

    “Northumbria has the lowest police precept in the country at £88.33.  The National Audit Office agrees with me that we have suffered the worst cuts out of all 43 forces in England and Wales. Since 2009 we have lost almost 900 police officers and hundreds of staff due to those Government cuts.  We will still have to lose more because there are still cuts, albeit some of them are hidden and labelled ‘top-slicing’.

    “The figure of £2.05m which will be raised by increasing the precept by 10p a week, £5 a year, will not replace those funding cuts but our funding will be significantly less without it and the Chief Constable tells me that 100 more officers would have to go if I do not make this increase.

    “This money will be invested to benefit the communities served by Northumbria Police, keeping 100 officers on the streets and helping to preserve high policing standards and the force’s national reputation for victim satisfaction.

    “The Chancellor did not consult either me or the public before dictating this course of action but we have asked the public for their views and I am pleased to say that most responses accepted the need to keep officers on the beat and expressed the view that 10p a week is a very small increase to pay for that security.”

    Councillor Gary Haley, Chair of the Northumbria Police and Crime Panel, said: “Local residents have made it very clear that they want to keep officers on the streets and the clear steer from Government has been that the local residents should pick up the tab for their withdrawal of funding. At a time of swingeing cuts from the Government who have been using an out of date funding formula, the Commissioner has been left with no choice but to raise the precept in order to protect police numbers and help keep our local communities safe.”

  • COMMISSIONER WELCOMES HMIC REPORT – VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND ADULTS NEED CARE, NOT CUSTODY.

    Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird has welcomed an HMIC report which finds that children need care, not custody.
    In January 2014, the Home Secretary commissioned HMIC to conduct a thematic inspection on the welfare of vulnerable people in police custody. The inspection looked at a number of areas which included those with mental health problems, those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and children.
    The inspection considered the end to end process. Inspections were undertaken in six force areas, Northumbria was not one, but Police and Crime Commissioner, Vera Baird QC, has committed to learning from the report to ensure Northumbria Police delivers the best care possible when dealing with vulnerable children and adults.
    There are a number of recommendations in the report which Northumbria Police will review carefully to ensure local practice follows national guidelines.  The Force’s current custody action plan and equality delivery plan already cover some of the areas highlighted in the report.  Commissioner Baird will now ensure that the report is updated to include the information highlighted in the HMIC report.
    Vera Baird said: “Custody suites and the use of handcuffs or limb restraints are for those suspected of committing a crime – not for people who are suffering mental health.  In Northumbria, we have dedicated nurses who provide support to people suffering from mental health. 
    \”Moving forward, Northumbria Police will continue to work with partners to ensure the best service available is given. I expect to see a reduction in the use of police custody for those suffering from mental health issues or vulnerable children in custody”.
    Northumbria Police is about to extend their successful street triage project where police officers and mental healthcare workers work together at peak times to avoid detaining people under the Mental Health Act and ensuring they get the support they need.
    Conclusions of the report found that custody should also be avoided for children. Where appropriate, Northumbria Police will seek alternatives to arrest. This could include a voluntary interview at a station, a person’s home or solicitors’ office.
    Mrs Baird added: “We can learn from this HMIC report, moving forward we will continue to work with partners to ensure effective support for young people is achieved, rather than bringing them in to custody. 
    \”The street triage is having a positive effect and improvements to our electronic records system will help ensure we are recording all the information expected by HMIC. 
    \”Northumbria is doing well, our drive and determination will ensure we are delivering an outstanding service for vulnerable people and children in custody.\”

  • Restorative Justice – Making A Difference in Northumbria

    Restorative Justice really does make a difference – here is a story from the Evening Chronicle about how it made a difference to two ladies in Whitley Bay. 

     

     

  • Miliband calls for “proper intervention” into police conduct during the Orgreave miners clash

    Labour Leader, Ed Miliband and Vera Baird – Calling for Answers.

    From Labourlist – www.labourlist.org

    The Guardian has reported today that Miliband has become one of the most senior politicians to call for a “proper investigation” into the confrontation between police and miners at Orgreave – known as the Battle of Orgreave

    Thirty years after the clashes between police and miners at Orgreave, the drive to push for a full investigation into alleged police alleged misconduct both during and after the incident continues. The police are accused of physically assaulting miners, lying under oath and perverting the course of justice when it came to the prosecution of 95 miners.

    In light of these accusations, in November 2012 the South Yorkshire police referred themselves to the Independent Police and Complaints Commission (IPCC). But over a year and a half later and the IPCC says they’re still “scoping” existing evidence so they can decide whether they’ll hold a full investigation

    Miliband, speaking to miners and representatives from Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign at Hatfield Main colliery in his Doncaster constituency, recently described the miner’s strike as a “just cause”. He went on to call for a full investigation into the polices actions:

    “You were fighting for justice, for your community, for equality, for all the things that mattered.

    The values you fought for are the values that we have to take forward for the future.

    Very specifically, there does need to be a proper investigation about what happened at Orgreave. We support that proper investigation taking place, as a matter of truth and a matter of justice.”

    A Labour party spokeperson further explained what a “proper investigation” meant: “The IPCC is looking into whether they should investigate. We want them to do the right thing.”

    Northumbria’s police and crime commissioner Vera Baird QC echoed Miliband’s sentiments. Speaking with the the Observer she said:

    “The IPCC is running out of time for trust to be sustained. One wants to have faith in the publicly established statutory organisation that investigates complaints against the police, but it’s impossible not to ask yourself: ‘What’s keeping them?’”

    Miliband’s bold stance is surely a welcome one, particularly for the miners and their families directly involved in and affected by the clashes – after thirty years it’s about time the matter was investigated thoroughly.