The Birmingham Yardley MP told the Commons: “To say that we are doing everything possible in flagging intelligence is just not true.
“Currently if you are found to have raped your wife or raped one of your children or abused your children, in a family court in this country, found by a British court, no police force in the country would be entitled to have that information when they were doing the vetting.”
“Currently if you are found to have raped your wife or raped one of your children or abused your children, in a family court in this country, found by a British court, no police force in the country would be entitled to have that information when they were doing the vetting.”
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NewsTranscript
00:00 I would like to send my love to Sarah Everard and also to the families of the 340 women in this country
00:07 who have been killed since the day that Sarah Everard was.
00:11 The Home Secretary there said that he takes the strategic policing requirement is forced to make it
00:18 so that this issue is as important as terrorism.
00:21 So if he could tell the House which police force in the country that has a counter-terror unit
00:25 has the same number of officers in that unit as they have specialists in violence against women and girls.
00:31 If he could answer the question of me about how his department spent £50 million last year
00:36 on 6,700 prevent referrals to prevent people from ending up in terrorism
00:42 and we spent £18 million on 898,000 police reports of domestic abuse.
00:49 So on one side you've got 6,000, on one side you've got nearly a million.
00:55 The Home Office spends £8 million on DV perpetrators, £50 million on diverting terrorist perpetrators.
01:04 So we're taking it as seriously.
01:06 To say that we are doing everything possible in flagging intelligence is just not true.
01:13 So currently if you are found to have raped your wife or raped one of your children or abused your children
01:18 in a family court in this country, found by a British court,
01:22 no police force in the country would be entitled to have that information when they were doing the vetting.
01:28 Will he commit today that that will all be completely and utterly available
01:33 and that if somebody is found to have raped or child abuse in a British court
01:37 that when they want to become a police officer or a social worker that that information will be available?
01:43 Hear, hear.
01:44 The Honourable Lady raises an incredibly important point about making sure that
01:49 where there have been offences that they are taken into consideration with regard to the vetting.
01:55 And that is part of the set of reforms that we will be looking at driving through.
02:05 She makes the point about numbers of officers and budgets.
02:12 I'm not convinced that that is necessarily the most useful metric of the seriousness
02:17 with which we take things.
02:21 But as I say, the strategic policing requirement makes it clear of my expectations.
02:27 Ultimately we continue to increase the financial support for the policing of these issues.
02:36 And I will, as I say, and I've committed this to the House,
02:40 I will continue to ensure that police officers at all ranks take this seriously.
02:49 Because without attitudinal change, increased funding, changed processes,
02:57 both of which are incredibly important, I absolutely agree with her that they are important,
03:02 but without a fundamental shift in philosophy, without a fundamental shift in attitude,
03:07 they will not have the effect that she and I both desire.
03:11 Nick Smith.
03:11 How to--
03:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]