Recognising the bravery and courage of our police force
Posted by Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, at 13:38, Fri 21 September 2012:
I was deeply shocked and sorry to hear of the death this week of two Greater Manchester police officers, Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone.
It's simply unimaginable that you'd go out to work in the morning to face violent death.
We take the police for granted, but they're often in the frontline of difficult, angry and dangerous situations, and we rely on their bravery to keep us all safe.
In just two months time, we will elect the first ever police and crime commissioner for Greater Manchester. This is such an important role, determining the priorities for the Greater Manchester police force, how the police budget gets spent, and how the police engage with the community.
It's important to our police officers, who need to know the new commissioner supports them and understands the risks they take on our behalf.
And it's important to the community too. What kind of police force do we want? What sort of relationship do communities want with the police? How do we ensure trust between the police and the communities they serve? Should we routinely arm the police? (I'll declare my position here - an emphatic no). What about victims of crime - how does their voice get heard?
I'm really pleased that Tony Lloyd is to be Labour's candidate to be police commissioner in Greater Manchester. Tony's got a long track record of working with local communities, and he understands what can cause trust to break down. This week, I attended a meeting with Trafford's youth cabinet. The young people there talked about their relationship with the police, and some worrying issues were raised.
Young people feel the police often regard them with suspicion, just because they're hanging out. They talked about their resentment at the way the police can use stop and search powers, and how young black men were disproportionately likely to be stopped.
They also said how important it was for local police officers to have time to get to know them, and to be out and about in the community. So the cuts faced by the police in Trafford are a cause of real concern.
Frontline community policing, respect for diversity and difference, and ensuring that everyone, whatever their background, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, faith , or economic status, is treated fairly by the police, is at the heart of Tony's campaign. It's desperately important for people to go out to use their vote on 15 November - or, if you don't fancy the idea of voting when it's probably going to be dark, wet and cold, sign up for a postal vote - contact my office and we'll be happy to get you the forms.
Best Wishes
Kate Green
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