Mr. Philip Dunne (Ludlow) (Con): If he will make a statement on the performance of West Mercia police. [24790]
Mr. Goggins: The police performance assessments published by the Home Office and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary on 27 October show that in 2004-05 the West Mercia police force achieved a very positive assessment of its performance across the range of its core policing activity. All delivery grades are either good or excellent, and most direction grades have improved.
Mr. Dunne: I am sure the Minister agrees that we should congratulate Paul West, the chief constable, on the fact that his force not only achieved those grades but was the top-performing force in the country, on the Minister's own criteria. How does he reconcile that outstanding performance with his Department's arbitrary decision, made during the current "Closing the Gap" consultation, that there should be a minimum force size of 4,000 officers? West Mercia has just proved that, with only 2,400 officers, it can deliver the best performance for the best value in the country.
Paul Goggins: I am happy to join the hon. Gentleman in praising Paul West and all his officers and staff for their tremendous achievements. They have cut crime in their area by 13 per cent. Burglary, for example, is down by 22 per cent. However, there is no contradiction between giving that praise clearly in the House and elsewhere and accepting the advice of Her Majesty's inspectorate that, in order that we can deal with terrorism and serious organised crime, and ensure that neighbourhood policing is not taken away from local communities, we need to have strategic forces of the size that it suggests: 4,000 officers and 6,000 staff. Those are not arbitrary figures. Her Majesty's inspectorate judges that those are the numbers that we need.
Commenting subsequently, Mr Dunne said: "The Minister acknowledged the outstanding performance of West Mercia compared with all other forces, including those much larger than the minimum size criteria he is now planning on the grounds of 'efficiency' and national crime prevention. West Mercia prooves that forces of its size are already more efficient than larger forces and already provide close collaboration with other forces. It should be left alone to be responsive to local communities, not submerged into a regional West Midlands force with its metropolitan policing priorities."
