Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Home Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Sam Carling Excerpts
Monday 15th September 2025

(2 days, 10 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
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Sarah Jones Portrait Sarah Jones
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We need to ensure that the police are doing what we need them to be doing, and that they are out on the streets solving crime and not tied up in red tape. That is absolutely certain. The way to be tough on crime is to be smart on crime, and I am happy to look at the hon. Gentleman’s suggestions.

Sam Carling Portrait Sam Carling (North West Cambridgeshire) (Lab)
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I recently met a police officer in Cambridgeshire who told me that that force had a policy requiring all footage from stop and searches to be reviewed by a more senior officer. Due to this, they feel discouraged from doing proactive patrols due to the extra work that it adds for already stretched supervisors. Will the Policing Minister write to Cambridgeshire’s Conservative police and crime commissioner and urge him to be more proactive on challenging these issues so that our frontline police can spend as much time as possible out in our communities?

Sarah Jones Portrait Sarah Jones
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I am sorry that my hon. Friend’s police and crime commissioner is not doing what is needed. We need to empower the police to be out doing what they do best, not creating barriers for them to do so.