‘Long, hard road’ to police reform says Labour leader

24 March 2023

Hertfordshire Police Federation chair Luke Mitchell has welcomed proposals to help officers tackle violence against women and girls.

His comments came after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer unveiled his party’s plans for police reform.

In a speech in Stoke-on-Trent, Sir Keir said: “Policing must start to serve women and minorities, no more excuses.

“Modernising the police is also the first step we need to take on halving violence amongst women and girls.”

He said a Labour government would place specialist domestic abuse workers responding to 999 calls in every police control room, and set up a specialist rape unit “in every police force”.

Sir Keir vowed to “reverse the collapse in the proportion of crime solved” and halve levels of violence against women and girls within a decade if he wins power at the next general election.

He also pledged to halve serious violent crime and raise confidence in the police and criminal justice system after Baroness Casey’s report on the Metropolitan Police.

Sir Keir said the importance of “visible neighbourhood police” was “crystal clear” and repeated a promise to recruit 13,000 extra officers and “get more police on the beat”.

He said Labour would also prioritise “fighting the virus that is anti-social behaviour: fly-tipping, off-road biking in rural areas, drugs”.

Sir Keir said policing “must change” but he warned: “It’s going to be a long, hard road.”

Luke said he would support any reforms which left he police service in a better position to tackle violence against women and girls and restore their confidence in policing.

He said: “It is important that we make tackling crimes of this nature one of our top priorities so we welcome any measures that help us to do that.

“Many aspects of policing have suffered as a consequence of years of cuts and underfunding and there is no doubt this has led to people losing faith in the service.

“Our members are determined to deliver a service that every member of society can have confidence in and would support any reforms that enable them to achieve that aim.”