Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead) (Con): It is a pleasure for me to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry). I have not taken part in the police parliamentary scheme, but I regularly go out on patrol with members of the Hertfordshire constabulary. I would like to place on record my admiration for the professionalism, skill and bravery of the police in that county, particularly in the Dacorum area.
On Halloween, last Friday night, I patrolled with the special constables in my constituency. The specials are the heart of community policing in this country. They are unpaid, yet dedicated to their community. The special with whom I was serving on Friday night had done 28 years unbroken service as a special in Hertfordshire. We should all try to inspire our constituents to become specials in their communities.
One of the fascinating things about being out on patrol with a special with such experience of his own community was that he did not have a satellite navigation system in his patrol car—he did not need one. He did not need a map, either. He knew the topography of his area—my constituency—like the back of his hand. It was also fantastic that he wanted to get out of his car and walk. He wanted to talk to the young people in particular, on Halloween of all nights, to find out exactly what was going on in the community. I pay tribute this afternoon to the specials. I know that all Members of Parliament were written to by the then Minister of State, asking them to go out with the specials during this time, and I hope that many colleagues from across the House have done so.
I also pay tribute to the many members of the police force in my constituency who are not actually members of the Hertfordshire constabulary, but Metropolitan police officers. My hon. Friend mentioned a particular problem earlier. We train quite a few members of the Metropolitan police in Hertfordshire. We pay for that training, they stay with us for a while, then they disappear because the pay and rations are so much better in the Metropolitan police. I do not blame the constables and sergeants who do that. Some of those who are protecting us here in the House today were formerly community officers in my constituency. That is quite a heavy burden for a small constabulary such as Hertfordshire to bear, however, because it results in our having disproportionately young or short-serving constables in the constituency.
I shall touch on a number of points today. Some might think that the early ones are quite trivial, but, as I get to the end of my short speech, I hope that colleagues will realise just how serious they are. I shall talk first about speed cameras. In a previous life, I was a fireman and I had the honour of being a driver on a rescue tender, so I know that speed kills. I have been all across Essex on the motorways and roads—particularly the minor roads—and I have seen the carnage that can result when young men, in particular, get behind the wheel of a car. It is very sad that there should be such a disproportionately high number of deaths among intelligent young men between the ages of 17 and 25. I am sure that the Minister has looked at the figures. I do not know what happens to young men when they get behind the wheel of a car, although I am sure that I was similar when I was 17. It is frightening to think of the lives that are being wasted.
I praise the projects that have been set up around the country, especially Drive to Survive in the Cheshire area. It is run by the Cheshire fire and rescue service, the other emergency services and the Cheshire education service. It is a wonderful scheme, and it has been driven forward by people who have lost loved ones in this way. That sort of scheme needs to be rolled out across the country.
Speed cameras work only in areas where there is an accident blackspot. That is where they should be. They should not be cash cows. All too often, our constituents make this point is to us. I have been out on patrol with the police when they have said to me, “Why is that camera there, Mr. Penning? Don’t you think it should be in another part of your constituency, where we know there are likely to be problems?” I should like to be quite radical. I do not want to get rid of speed cameras altogether but, speaking from experience, I should like to see more cameras at traffic light junctions, particularly in the big cities. More accidents and deaths involving pedestrians, motor cyclists, cyclists and drivers occur at traffic lights these days than in front of most of the speed cameras in this country, although speed cameras have a role to play in preventing such accidents.
Keith Vaz: The hon. Gentleman is making not a trivial point, but a very important one. The Home Affairs Select Committee published a report at the end of last year entitled “A surveillance society?”, which pointed to the need for cameras, but said that they need to be in the right place. The number of prosecutions resulting from evidence that comes from cameras is actually quite limited. The hon. Gentleman is right to pursue that point, and I hope that those who have responsibility in these matters will understand it.
Mike Penning: I thank the right hon. Gentleman for those comments; I know that his Committee is looking further into the matter. If cameras are to be placed, they must be there for a purpose, and that purpose should not be to raise money, but to prevent accidents. The accidents that take place at traffic lights are commonly known as “unprotected accidents”, when someone is not at all ready for the impact that is going to happen. It is a serious matter and we have only to set foot outside this place and into Parliament square to see traffic lights regularly being jumped. It is not just one particular sort of driver who does it; it is an almost accepted occurrence nowadays. We have to prevent that.
I also want to speak briefly about the Criminal Records Bureau, and I hope that the Minister will give me some of his time in future to discuss how it operates. I have constituents who have not been convicted of any offence, but malicious allegations have been made against them. When looked into, these people are found to be completely innocent, yet when an advanced check is done, it is found that the accusation sits on their record. It cannot be right in a democracy that completely innocent people against whom no accusations have been proved, no charges brought and no criminal prosecution has taken place, should have their lives blighted through a mechanism that is supposed to be there to protect them. I understand why it is there, but it is being abused.
I believe that the abuse comes from chief constables, who have the power to remove these sorts of record, but do not do so. Perhaps they do not remove them because an element of doubt remains—I guess it is obvious that Huntley provides a good example of what people are so frightened about. I will not mention my constituent’s name, but a malicious accusation was made against him, as I said. He moved to another part of the country, found a job in a bus company, but was later told that he would lose his job because of a CRB check that showed he had been accused of an offence. That cannot be right.
I met the chief executive of the Criminal Records Bureau, who told me that he did not have the power to remove items from the checklist. Apparently, the Information Commissioner is the only authority to which people can appeal. That seems ludicrous, when this is happening as a result of legislation brought in by the Home Office to protect people. We MPs have no way of protecting our constituents from it. I understand that the Home Office is currently conducting a review, but I wanted to raise the matter this afternoon as a very important issue that is affecting people’s lives. The legislation was designed to protect, but it is actually hindering some people who are entirely innocent.
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