WHEN EVERY STREET IS SAFE FROM CRIME, THEN WE CAN BE GOOD NEIGHBOURS

New York has cut crime levels by 60 per cent over the past ten years, in
stark contrast to London, where crime has risen dramatically. It was
because of this powerful statistic that I visited the New York Police
Department this month to learn about their policing and criminal justice
revolution. My visit has convinced me that Britain needs a similar revolution.

A transformation is required which puts neighbourhood policing at the heart
of communities and which sees policemen become custodians of their beat.

Earlier this year I argued that the neighbourly society is the most
important defence we have against crime. The problem is that any semblance
we have of the neighbourly society a " particularly in our poorest
neighbourhoods" is breaking down. In the face of crime and social disorder,
a community can only retreat, ceding more ground to the criminal and
exposing young people to values wholly opposed to those of the neighbourly
society. If crime wins the struggle, and criminals take possession of the
streets, those honest citizens who remain lead blighted lives.

These people need someone to fight for them, not just holding the line
against fear, but taking back the ground lost to the forces of disorder.
Who can take on this role? It must be the police. But the conventional view
is that the proper role of the police is to confront serious, organised
crime through the discipline of criminal intelligence.

I have nothing against conventional policing methods, but high-level
policing will never be sufficient on its own. Conventional policing needs
to work with neighbourhood policing. This is not to be confused with
"community policing", which at best involves worthwhile community
activities and at worst means putting PR consultants in epaulettes.

Neighbourhood policing is distinct because it both engages with society and
confronts crime "and can do so because it operates within a tangible
geographical area. It is integral to the Conservative vision of a
neighbourly society."

Conventional and neighbourhood policing must be viewed as two halves of a
whole. One deals with specific crimes, the other with general disorder; one
targets major offences, the other minor offences; one is reactive and
remedial, the other proactive and protective.

Many American cities now take neighbourhood policing seriously. They have
put police on the streets and as a consequence have been able to apprehend
street criminals. The police have targeted crime where and when it occurs
and have given the streets back to the public. The New York beat cop is
regarded as a professional, entrusted with the task of accumulating
low-level intelligence that will enable the NYPD in his precinct to trace
disorder and crime.

As well as the emergency number 911 (our equivalent of 999), there is also
a 311 number. This enables residents to complain about graffiti, broken
windows, noisy neighbours, local drug dealers and other aspects of
low-level disorder. Their complaints are taken seriously and acted upon.
The "broken windows" theory which governs policing in New York and other
American cities stems from the progressive and liberating idea that
citizens do not need to tolerate low-level disorder, and that it must be
tackled with the same energy that is applied to dealing with crime if the
streets are to be reclaimed for the honest citizen.

The police also work in tandem with the courts and criminal process. New
York makes a reality of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John
Stevens's dream of a criminal justice system that is rapid and effective.
The timescales for the courts are far shorter than in Britain. Cases are
prepared using computerised techniques so that police do not have to spend
a lot of time on paperwork. Some 50 per cent of all minor cases are
resolved within a couple of weeks of arrest. A high proportion of the rest
are dealt with through plea-bargaining, allowing criminals to avoid a full
trial by accepting lower sentences. The results are dramatic. The courts
are less clogged than in Britain, and there are not numerous individuals
wandering around on bail for months on end.

What I am proposing is the biggest change to policing since the foundation
of the police service by Sir Robert Peel. We need common aims: a level of
attention to neighbourhood policing not seen in this country for many
years; a level of attention to the timely identification, analysis and
effective resolution of street crime and disorder not witnessed in our
police forces, and a sense of urgency to address crime and disorder through
the criminal justice system which we do not have. Without achieving these
goals, we will never recreate a neighbourly society for Britain.