09.05.11
Police reforms give officers more powers and responsibility
Home Secretary Theresa May is to take the power to decide whether a suspect is charged from crown prosecutors and hand it back to the police in more than 80% of cases.
The CPS will make the decision only in the most serious cases, giving police back powers they lost following a decision by the former Labour Government in 2003.
The moves are part of a wider package to save 2.5m hours of police time and give officers more freedom, May said.
She also wants to exempt experienced officers from performance development reviews, reduce paperwork in domestic violence cases and cut the number of minor crime categories that have to be recorded by police.
May said in a speech this morning: “Last year in my very first speech as home secretary, I offered the police a deal - more freedom to do your work; in exchange for greater accountability to local people.”
She added: “We won't change cultures, attitudes and processes overnight. Getting rid of the paperwork is as hard and grinding a task, as actually filling out the pointless forms in the first place. But I am absolutely determined to see this through.”
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