Gordon Brown visits Staffordshire Police HQ
3 February 2008
The Prime Minister has paid a visit to the headquarters of Staffordshire police to learn more about community policing.
Mr Brown also spoke to officers about the force's contribution to a major national report on policing due out next week. Sir Ronnie Flanagan's 'Review of Policing' will set out a series of recommendations to improve policing in the UK, with Staffordshire Police contributing particularly to a section on tackling bureaucracy.
The Prime Minister's hour-long visit included a tour of the force's area communications unit followed by a meeting with officers, police community support officers and staff.
Staffordshire's Chief Constable Chris Sims said:
"Today has been a real opportunity to talk to the Prime Minister about the work we've been doing to cut the bureaucracy faced by frontline officers. He listened very attentively to the force's views that neighbourhood policing and bureaucracy are intrinsically linked.
"By tackling the culture of form-filling we want to free up extra time and space for our officers and staff to deliver a better service, engage with communities and change public opinion. Our mission is to put our citizens at the very heart of our work so that we become the force that inspires the greatest levels of trust and confidence from its communities."
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