Diana Johnson – 2024 Speech at the Police Superintendents’ Conference

The speech made by Diana Johnson, the Crime and Policing Minister, in Kenilworth on 10 September 2024.

Hello everyone and thank you for having me.

Given this is my first time addressing your conference, I’m tempted to ask you to take that into account, particularly in the Q+A.

But having spent much of my time before the election asking uncomfortable questions as chair of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, including to ministers and policing leaders, I guess I need to get used to the roles being reversed.

But – seriously speaking – my time in that role gave me a window into your world. The engagement we had with police bodies, including the PSA, helped to strengthen my understanding of the realities and challenges of policing today.

And one thing I also just wanted to let you know was that I’ve been an MP for 19 years, and one of the very best things I have ever done as a member of parliament was the Police Parliamentary scheme, where I got the opportunity to spend 24 days with my local police force, Humberside, and it gave me a real opportunity to see what was happening on a kind of day-to-day basis for police officers. And I remember doing the kind of early morning shift, and I did nights, and I went out on public order, and I went out with the dogs, and it was just fascinating. So, I’m really pleased I did that, and I have that experience now I’m a Police Minister. So I want to say as well, as the Home Secretary just did, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you.

From the most routine acts of policing to national-scale operations and painstaking investigations, you make an immeasurable contribution to our society.

And I do also want to say a few words about the summer disorder. And as you know, it has been an incredibly busy few weeks for this government, since the general election, and the events of the summer have left us all, I think, with much to reflect upon.

The attack in Southport rocked that community to its core and the impact was felt around the country.

For three little girls to lose their lives is just unspeakably horrific, and my thoughts are of course with their loved ones. I cannot begin to imagine the anguish they are going through.

I want to take the opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to every officer involved in responding to that terrible incident. They showed tremendous courage in the most difficult of circumstances, and their actions saved lives.

We all know what came next; at a time when we should have been focused only on supporting those affected by the attack in Southport, and allowing the urgent police investigation to get under way, we instead found ourselves responding to an outbreak of widespread violent disorder.

The various incidents around the country have been catalogued in extensive detail so I will not get into a new blow-by-blow account.

I will simply say that the hijacking of those poor families’ grief at that time was utterly shameful…

…as was the violence directed towards police officers working to maintain order and protect the community.

The immediate priority was to get back control of the streets and restore order.

That’s why the Prime Minister and Home Secretary made clear from the beginning that you had our unqualified support in taking all necessary action to quell the disorder.

And we sent the message loud and clear that anyone involved in criminality should expect to be caught and face the consequences of their actions.

The swiftness of the response by policing and the wider criminal justice system was fundamental to getting the situation under control and restoring order.

As part of the national mobilisation plan coordinated by NPoCC, more than 40,000 officer shifts were worked by public order officers over that 10-day period, with over 6,600 public order officers deployed on one day alone. Rest days, as you know, were cancelled and additional hours were worked.

The fact that arrests were being made within hours and convicted offenders behind bars facing prison time within days not only showed we were serious when we said there would be a price to pay for criminality on our streets, but it also demonstrated to the law-abiding public that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

So, I want to echo the Home Secretary’s words of enormous thanks to everyone across policing for your tireless efforts during what was an exceptionally difficult period.

But I also want to say this: I’m appalled that new figures revealed today show that assaults on our women and men in uniform are still far too high.

Even preceding the violent disorder of this summer – assaults on police officers are up, with a quarter of those incidents resulting in injury.

The Home Secretary was right to call this a ‘stain on our society’ and to say that it will not be tolerated.

So, we recognise your service and your sacrifice.

Whether it’s responding to violent disorder, running towards danger, attending emergencies or investigating serious crimes, we know that the heroic daily work of the police exerts a huge strain on officers and their families.

That’s why we will always support you, as you support your teams to serve our communities.

It’s why we support the Police Covenant and why we are determined to work with you to ensure it delivers for all officers, staff and volunteers, recognising that wellbeing and mental health support is vital in maintaining a healthy and engaged police workforce who can effectively serve and protect the public.

Turning now to the safer streets mission, which the Home Secretary referred to, I think it’s clear that those unacceptable attacks on the police speak directly to this Government’s wider Safer Streets mission.

And that is to restore respect for the rule of law on British streets, including restoring respect for the police, which has sadly been eroded over many years.

To do that, we will ensure that you have everything you need to get back to tackling the issues that matter most to the public.

Too many town centres and high streets across the country have been gripped by an epidemic of anti-social behaviour, theft and shoplifting, which is corroding our communities and cannot be allowed to continue.

There are thousands of incredible police officers and support staff doing an admirable job. But we do have to face the reality that there are still too many victims of anti-social behaviour who feel that when they call the police, no one listens, no one comes and nothing is done.

Our neighbourhoods and police forces have suffered enough after a decade of decline, and this government will help restore neighbourhood policing, with skilled, resilient and dedicated local cops.

We must rebuild these bonds of trust and respect between the police and local communities that have always been so central to our proud British tradition of policing by consent.

That’s why we will implement a new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, restoring patrols to town centres, recruiting thousands of additional police personnel, and ensuring every community has a named local police officer to turn to.

And as part of that plan, I can announce today that the government has agreed initial funding to support the College of Policing in rolling out a specialist new training programme for neighbourhood officers.

The Neighbourhood Policing Programme Career Pathway will focus on anti-social behaviour, community engagement and problem solving and equip neighbourhood officers with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to build local relationships and to tackle the issues that damage communities the most.

Every community deserves local officers who understand what is needed to keep them safe, and with this new training and our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we will deliver the change our towns and villages are desperate for.

Supers are the operational leaders, you know what is going on in  forces day to day, and we want to tap into your insight and expertise as we restore neighbourhood policing and crack down on corrosive crimes like anti-social behaviour and shoplifting, which will help to restore public confidence that there will be consequences for criminality in their communities.

But to deliver on the promise of change we have made to the British people, we also need to crack down on the serious crimes that devastate lives and communities across the country.

That is why we are acting to address the deadly cycle of knife crime by getting more dangerous weapons off our streets and preventing young people from being drawn into violent crime in the first place, with a radical new Young Futures prevention programme and early intervention for those at-risk.

And it is why we have set out an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade, working right across government, as well as with the police and the criminal justice system, on everything from prevention work in schools, to pursuing dangerous perpetrators and to getting survivors the support and the justice they need.

Underpinning all of this is an unwavering commitment to protecting our national security, and those working to counter threats from terrorism, hostile states or any other source, and they have our full and enduring support.

Law enforcement has an instrumental role in delivering this ambitious mission. So as with neighbourhood policing, we will be looking to you and your teams to work with us so we can deliver real and lasting improvements for the public.

As the Home Secretary has said to many policing colleagues since the election – we will not be politicians who just shout from the sidelines. We will work in lockstep with you to deliver change – championing your successes, recognising your sacrifices and, yes, of course, holding you to account and asking difficult questions along the way to ensure that progress is being made in every corner of the country.

Because for this mission to be successful, it will be critical to secure and maintain the confidence of the people you serve.

The vast, vast majority of officers I know are decent, hardworking and professional. When standards are not met or powers are abused, I know that you all feel it deeply and it undermines your excellent work.

That is why, together, we have to ensure behaviour and cultures are beyond reproach, right across the system.

In charting a new path, I know that none of this is easy. There are deep-rooted issues that need to be reckoned with.

One thing we know for sure is that none of our goals will be achieved unless there is close alignment between government and policing.

But with the Home Secretary’s knowledge and leadership, I wholeheartedly believe we can chart a new, successful way forward.

And I know this because I have seen first-hand how dedicated the Home Secretary is to supporting each and every member of the policing family.

I know how keenly she feels her responsibility to ensure you have the powers and tools to fulfil your critical functions.

And I can assure you that when she says she wants to work with you to get British policing performance at its very best, she means it.

As superintendents and chief superintendents, but also as police leaders, you have an important and rightful role to play in helping us deliver safer communities.

You have a wealth of knowledge, insight and expertise that we absolutely want to tap into to help us deliver on our mission.

Whether that’s about the threats you and your teams are tackling day in and day out, or about more strategic policing issues, we want to and we need to hear from you in shaping our approach.

In conclusion, again I want to offer my thanks again to the PSA for all the work they do and for giving me the opportunity to address you today.

As Policing Minister, I intend to be your voice within government.

And I do want to champion your successes, understand your needs and support your teams.

As the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have made clear, we are serious. We are very serious about tackling crime, rebuilding confidence and putting neighbourhood policing back at the heart of our communities.

You and your colleagues will all have an integral part and role to play in that mission.

And I know it’s not going to be delivered overnight.

I’m conscious – I think I’ve been post about 11 weeks, so I know that you know this is going to take some time,

But what I have seen in my short time in my role has given me a renewed confidence that we will succeed.

The dedication, the skill, the bravery, the willingness to make sacrifices…these are the core elements of British policing at its best and they have been on display in abundance over recent weeks.

I will finish by saying how grateful I am to everyone across the service, and I very much look forward to working with you all as we strive to protect the public and make our country safer.

Thank you very much for your time.