Jim Shannon

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. A big thank you to the hon. Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) for setting the scene incredibly well. There is no issue more critical to the peace, stability and everyday safety of our citizens in Northern Ireland than the strength and integrity of our community policing. I have always been a believer in community policing. I supported it when I first became a councillor in 1985 and as an MLA, and I support it now as an MP. True policing is not done from behind the high walls of a fortified station or from the windows of armoured vehicles. It is done on the streets and on the doorsteps through the painstaking, day-by-day work of building trust with local communities. When community policing thrives, our neighbourhoods thrive. When that foundation is stripped away, the consequences for society are severe. Sometimes, political decisions are taken that affect community policing, which has been an issue in Northern Ireland. I will not go into detail, as it would not be appropriate for this debate, but it has an effect upon community policing. I think of our superb local commander, Superintendent Johnston McDowell. For years, Superintendent McDowell and his team have been at pains to engage with the community, showing visible leadership and keeping our streets safe. They have done incredible work in managing complex local tensions and taking drugs off our streets with absolute professionalism. They are at the forefront of community policing. They are the people who work with the community. Superintendent McDowell has achieved those successes despite facing a crippling multimillion-pound black hole in the budget. The Police Service of Northern Ireland needs funding and resources to put boots on the ground, maintain its fleet and preserve neighbourhood teams. More than a cheque book, however, the PSNI needs a Government who understand the fragility of policing by consent. I know that the Minister often goes to Northern Ireland and has direct contact with the Chief Constable and the Justice Minister. Some of the lessons we have learned in Northern Ireland would be helpful to the rest of the country, because our police manage complex issues every day. I finish with this, because I am conscious that others wish to speak. When the rule of law is compromised by political intervention, local community police officers pay the price on the doorstep. The Government must recognise the damage that political interference causes to community relations, fully back the independence of local policing, and finally deliver the fair and sustainable funding that our police service needs to keep every single community safe. Community policing? I am behind it all the way.