Research found that the public had a high level of satisfaction with the work of community support officers. Most community support officers spent the majority of their time on high-visibility duties. But there was only 'limited evidence' of success in reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.
Source: Home Office research, reported in The Guardian, 23 December 2004
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2004-Dec
An audit report said that many of the crime reduction projects funded by the Home Office had been diverse in nature, innovative, and successful in reducing crime. But even greater reductions in crime could be achieved by reducing the administrative burden on local partnerships.
Source: Reducing Crime: The Home Office working with Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, HC 16 (Session 2004-05), National Audit Office (020 7798 7000)
Links: Report (pdf) | NAO press release
Date: 2004-Dec
The report was published of an independent inquiry into professional standards and employment matters in the Metropolitan Police Service. It criticized the Service for discriminating against ethnic minority officers.
Source: The Case for Change: People in the Metropolitan Police Service ('Morris Inquiry report'), Metropolitan Police Authority (020 7202 0202)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Home Office press release | IPCC press release | APA press release | ACPO press release | Police Fed press release (pdf) | PCS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Dec
The Chief Inspector of Constabulary published his annual report for 2003-04.
Source: Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary 2003-04, HC 191, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Dec
A think-tank report said that the design of police stations was a barrier to good public service. They were intimidating and alienating places to visit, and their design could undermine government plans for more personalized and responsive public services.
Source: Ben Rogers with Tom Huston, Re-inventing the Police Station: Police-public relations, reassurance and the future of the police estate, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Report (pdf) | IPPR press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Dec
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill was given a second reading. The Bill contained proposals to establish a Serious Organised Crime Agency, and further measures to tackle crime - including dealing with child vandals, underage drinking and uninsured drivers.
Source: Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 7 December 2004, columns 1044-1137, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | HOC Library research paper 1 (pdf) | HOC Library research paper 2 (pdf) | Hansard | Home Office press release | JUSTICE briefing (pdf) | Liberty briefing (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Dec
The Identity Cards Bill was given a second reading. Campaigners and lawyers called for the Bill to be abandoned.
Source: Identity Cards Bill, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 20 December 2004, columns 1943-2030, TSO | Press release 17 December 2004, JUSTICE (020 7329 5100), Law Society and Bar Council
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | Home Office press release | HOC Library research paper (pdf) | JUSTICE press release (pdf) | JUSTICE briefing (pdf) | Liberty briefing (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Dec
An audit report said that police forces in Scotland continued to improve their crime clear-up performance, and were making further progress in tackling housebreakings, drugs, and road injuries. But the target for reducing serious violent crimes was not met.
Source: Police & Fire: Performance indicators 2003/04, Audit Scotland for Accounts Commission and Auditor General (0131 477 1234)
Links: Report (pdf) | Audit Scotland press release (pdf) | SE press release
Date: 2004-Dec
A study reported the results of an evaluation of a reassurance policing project (aimed at reducing fear of crime, and improving perceptions of the police service), undertaken in two socially deprived parishes of Milton Keynes.
Source: Lawrence Singer, Reassurance Policing: An evaluation of the local management of community safety, Research Study 288, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Study (pdf)
Date: 2004-Nov
A report by a committee of MPs said that policy-makers should refuse to be bullied by the motoring lobby into dropping effective but controversial policies. The challenge was to make dangerous and negligent driving as unacceptable as drink driving.
Source: Traffic Law and its Enforcement, Sixteenth Report (Session 2003-04), HC 105, House of Commons Transport Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2004-Nov
A White Paper set out plans for a new neighbourhood policing fund to support the development of dedicated neighbourhood policing teams across the country. It also introduced ten key commitments to ensure high standards of customer service, and set out measures to sharpen the customer focus of the police service. Previous plans for directly-elected police authorities were dropped.
Source: Building Communities, Beating Crime: A better police service for the 21st century, White Paper Cm 6360, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 9 November 2004, columns 704-719, TSO
Links: White Paper (pdf) | Home Office press release | Hansard | Police Fed press release (pdf) | LGA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
The government published a plan setting out the framework and context for policing in England and Wales for 2005-2008. The plan set out five priorities: reducing overall crime - including violent and drug-related crime - in line with public service agreements; providing a citizen-focused police service which responded to the needs of communities and individuals, especially victims and witnesses, and inspired confidence in the police, particularly among minority ethnic communities; increasing detection rates and targeting prolific and other priority offenders; reducing people's concerns about crime, anti-social behaviour and disorder; and combating serious and organized crime within and across police force boundaries.
Source: National Policing Plan 2005-08: Safer, stronger communities, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Plan (pdf) | Home Office press release | Police Fed press release (pdf)
Date: 2004-Nov
Plans for a Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill were included in the government s legislative programme for the Parliamentary year 2004-05 (Queen's Speech), and a Bill was published. The Bill established a new agency to lead the fight against crime gangs trading in drugs and guns. It also overhauled the powers of police officers, and extended the powers of community support officers - giving them powers to search suspects for dangerous items. The government published a summary of responses to a previous consultation exercise on the issue of serious organized crime. Solicitors criticized the extension of police powers. Police officers described plans for the new agency as 'a recipe for disaster'.
Source: House of Lords Hansard, Queen's Speech 23 November 2004, columns 1-4, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 25 November 2004, columns 246-330, TSO | Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill, Home Office, TSO | Summary of Responses to the White Paper 'One Step Ahead, a 21st Century Strategy to Defeat Organised Crime' Cm 6167, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Press release 23 November 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Press release 23 November 2004, Law Society (020 7242 1222) | Press release 23 November 2004, Police Federation of England and Wales (020 8335 1000)
Links: Text of Speech | Lords Hansard | Commons Hansard | Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Law Society press release | Police Fed press release (pdf) | HOC Library research paper (pdf) | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2004-Nov
Plans for an Identity Cards Bill were included in the government s legislative programme for the Parliamentary year 2004-05 (Queen's Speech), and a Bill was published. The government said that identity cards would help to tackle the organized criminals and terrorists who used fake identities to carry out their crimes. They would also aid the fight against illegal working and immigration abuse, enable easier and more convenient access to services and ensure free public services were only used by those entitled to them. The Bill would set out 'stringent' safeguards for the use of the cards, what information they contained, and who could access that information. It would cost 85 to be issued with an identity card and renewed passport. Doctors warned that legislation to introduce national identity cards should not lead to vulnerable groups being denied access to the National Health Service.
Source: House of Lords Hansard, Queen's Speech 23 November 2004, columns 1-4, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 25 November 2004, columns 246-330, TSO | Identity Cards Bill, Home Office, TSO | Press release 23 November 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Press release 23 November 2004, British Medical Association (020 7383 6244)
Links: Text of Speech | Lords Hansard | Commons Hansard | Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Home Office press release (1) | Home Office press release (2) | Police Fed press release (pdf) | BMA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
Plans for a Road Safety Bill were included in the government s legislative programme for the Parliamentary year 2004-05 (Queen's Speech), and a Bill was published. The Bill would relate the punishment of certain offences by fixed penalty to the severity of the crime; introduce new powers for police to use roadside evidential breath testing equipment; and enable the detection of uninsured driving through improved use of data and technology.
Source: House of Lords Hansard, Queen's Speech 23 November 2004, columns 1-4, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 25 November 2004, columns 246-330, TSO | Road Safety Bill, Department for Transport, TSO |
Links: Text of Speech | Lords Hansard | Commons Hansard | Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | DT press release | Living Streets press release | Transport 2000 press release | CPRE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on identity cards. It announced modifications to its proposed scheme: a single, universal ID card for all United Kingdom nationals would be issued alongside passports, rather than combined with them. It said that this would simplify the operation of the scheme.
Source: The Government Reply to the Fourth Report from the Home Affairs Committee Session 2003-04 HC130 Identity Cards, Cm 6359, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 27 October 2004, columns 50-51WS, TSO
Links: Response (pdf) | MPs report | Hansard | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Oct
A report by a committee of MPs examined management failings at the Criminal Records Bureau. It called for research to find out whether the Bureau was contributing to a reduction in the number of crimes and abuses against the vulnerable.
Source: Criminal Records Bureau: Delivering safer recruitment?, Forty-fifth Report (Session 2003-04), HC 453, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Age Concern press release
Date: 2004-Oct
Evaluation of a pilot project involving 'on the spot' fines for disorder found that 9 out of 10 were issued for just two offences: 49 per cent for causing harassment, alarm or distress , and 42 per cent for disorderly behaviour while drunk . There was an overall payment rate of nearly 70 per cent. Between a quarter and a half of penalties went to offenders who would otherwise have been cautioned or prosecuted. Fewer than 2 per cent of recipients requested a court hearing. (Penalty notices for low-level disorder offences were introduced by the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.)
Source: Gavin Halligan-Davis and Keith Spicer, Piloting On the Spot Penalties for Disorder: Final results from a one-year pilot, Research Findings 257, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Findings (pdf) | Home Office press release
Date: 2004-Sep
Performance data for 2003-04 suggested that the police had succeeded in reducing burglary by 8 per cent, robbery by 9 per cent, and vehicle crime by more than 6 per cent. The total number of offences brought to justice had increased, and people were less worried about being the victims of crime than in previous years.
Source: Police Performance Monitoring 2003/04, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
A new book examined the debates around policies to improve community safety and urban security. It illustrated the key role to be played in the prevention of crime by professions such as housing managers, planners, teachers, youth workers, social workers, health visitors - and, equally importantly, by lay citizens.
Source: Henry Shaftoe, Crime Prevention: Facts, fallacies and the future, Palgrave Macmillan (01256 329242)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Sep
The government announced new national minimum standards of customer service by the police, to be introduced in every police force over the following two years. The standards were designed to make it easier for the public to contact the police, through call handling systems; there would be clearer information to the public about how to get in touch; and there would be minimum standards on how the police should deal with the initial call, and on how to measure feedback from the public about the service they had received. The government also set out a new procedure to ensure any new plans for the police were scrutinized for any extra paperwork they create as part of the ongoing war on 'police bureaucracy'. But police officers said that increased use of community support officers in frontline policing roles was destroying police officers contact with their local communities.
Source: Press release 14 September 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Press release 14 September 2004, Police Federation of England and Wales (020 8335 1000)
Links: Home Office press release | Police Fed press release (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
The government announced the findings of a consultation on police reform. It said that there was broad support for the police reform programme, including increased community engagement, more visible and accessible police, and giving local people a greater say in determining local community safety priorities.
Source: Policing: Building Safer Communities Together - Summary of responses, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Press release 9 September 2004, Home Office
Links: Consultation responses (pdf) | Consultation document (pdf) | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
A study analysed data from pilot projects in which community support officers were able to exercise powers of detention. It concluded that the pilot schemes had been successful, and that none of the issues raised would provide substantial grounds for resisting the extension of the scheme to all forces. But police officers said that community support officers were being used in 'confrontational situations' which put the public at risk.
Source: Lawrence Singer, Community Support Officer (Detention Power) Pilot: Evaluation results, Home Office (020 7273 2084) | Press release 8 September 2004, Police Federation of England and Wales (020 8335 1000)
Links: Study (pdf) | Police Fed press release (pdf)
Date: 2004-Sep
An inspectorate report said that the police service in Northern Ireland had 'a number of significant challenges' to meet before its performance reached the standards expected both by the government and the communities of Northern Ireland.
Source: Baseline Assessment of the Police Service of Northern Ireland: April 2004, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (01527 882000)
Links: Report (pdf) | NIO press release
Date: 2004-Aug
The government began consultation on proposals to increase police powers. The proposals included: providing the police with the power of arrest for all offences; increasing the ability of police officers to apply for and execute warrants issued by the courts; releasing police officers for front-line duties by giving police staff greater powers (for example, to deal with traffic, enforce bylaws and tackle begging); powers to drug test suspects for certain 'trigger' offences on arrest; and allowing the courts to draw inferences from an individual s refusal to submit to a search for drugs.
Source: Policing: Modernising Police Powers to Meet Community Needs, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Aug
A report by a committee of MPs said that an identity card scheme could make a significant contribution to achieving the aims set out for it by the government, particularly tackling crime and terrorism. In principle an identity card scheme could also play a useful role in improving the co-ordination of, and the citizen's access to, public services - although the government had not yet put forward clear proposals to do so. The government had made a convincing case for proceeding with the introduction of identity cards: but they also carried clear risks, both for individuals and for the successful implementation of the scheme.
Source: Identity Cards, Fourth Report (Session 2003-04), HC 130-I, House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Home Office press release | Law Society press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jul
An inspectorate report recommended that the government develop a national police resourcing strategy in England and Wales. The police officers' union said that the report further blurred the differences between the roles of police officers and civilian support staff.
Source: Modernising the Police Service: A thematic inspection of workforce modernisation - The role, management and deployment of police staff in the police service of England and Wales, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (01527 882000) | Press release 20 July 2004, Police Federation of England and Wales (020 8335 1000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Appendix (pdf) | Home Office press release | Police Fed press release (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jul
The Home Secretary required the Humberside Police Authority, under the Police Reform Act 2002, to suspend its Chief Constable (David Westwood), following criticism of him and his force in the Bichard Inquiry report (into the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in 2002). He began legal proceedings against the Authority following its failure to comply.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 22 June 2004, columns 1185-1201, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Home Office press release (1) | Home Office press release (2) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jun
A report by the Commission for Racial Equality said that 14 police forces had race equality plans which were so poor they broke equality laws.
Source: Formal Investigation of the Police Service In England and Wales: Interim report, Commission for Racial Equality (020 7939 0000)
Links: Report (pdf) | CRE press release (1) | CRE press release (2) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jun
A report made a range of recommendations to improve the selection and appointments process to key posts in police authorities. It highlighted the need to engage local people, and the importance of police authorities continuing to develop effective links with other community groups.
Source: Kenneth Hamer, Independent Review of the Selection and Appointments Process of Independent Members of Police Authorities, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 4 May 2004, column 69WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2004-May
An inspectorate report said that all criminal justice partners supported the concept of prioritising work with a small number of offenders who caused significant harm within communities by virtue of the amount of offences they committed. There was some evidence that intensive interventions could have a positive crime reduction and rehabilitative effect, making a significant impact on communities and the lives of offenders.
Source: Joint Inspection Report into Persistent and Prolific Offenders, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (01527 882000) with five other inspectorates
Links: Report (pdf) | Home Office press release
Date: 2004-May
An inspectorate report said that the Home Office should consider the role crime and disorder reduction partnerships could play in addressing the wider issues in connection with gun crime. The government began a review of legislation governing firearms.
Source: Guns, Community and Policing: HMIC thematic inspection into the criminal use of firearms, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (01527 882000) | Controls on Firearms: Consultation paper, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report (pdf) | Home Office press release | Consultation document (pdf)
Date: 2004-May
Researchers examined the issues around initiatives (by the police and other bodies) that sought to provide public reassurance through visible patrols in residential areas. They recommended greater engagement between local crime and disorder reduction partnerships and the private sector, to improve both provision and oversight of the extended policing 'family'.
Source: Adam Crawford and Stuart Lister, The Extended Policing Family: Visible patrols in residential areas, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (01904 629241)
Links: Report (pdf) | JRF Findings 424 | JRF press release
Date: 2004-Apr
Researchers found that, despite different starting points, all 'On Track' projects surveyed had incorporated into their delivery plans evidence of strategic planning that drew on multi-agency partnerships and community consultation. (On Track is a multiple interventions crime prevention programme targeted at children aged 4-12 and their families.)
Source: Lesley Noaks, Karen Moreton and Howard Williamson, On Track Thematic Report: Partnership Working, Research Report 527, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf)
Date: 2004-Apr
The government published (for consultation) a draft Bill setting out the proposed legal framework for a national compulsory identity cards scheme using unique biometric identifiers linked to a new national database.
Source: Legislation on Identity Cards: A consultation, Cm 6178, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Apr
The Independent Police Complaints Commission came into being on 1 April 2004, replacing the Police Complaints Authority. The new body had wider powers to initiate, carry out and oversee investigations into the conduct of the police.
Source: Press release 1 April 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Home Office press release | IPCC press release
Date: 2004-Apr
An independent evaluation found a fall of nearly 28 per cent in the overall rate of crime in the first wave of areas with neighbourhood wardens.
Source: Neighbourhood Wardens Scheme Evaluation, Neighbourhood Renewal Unit/Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 8383)
Links: Report (pdf) | ODPM press release
Date: 2004-Apr
A report made proposals designed to enhance the relationship between police and communities in Scotland, and improve community involvement. It recommended the extended use of public perception surveys to engage with local people on policing priorities, and that forces should review how they consulted with local people and organisations to maximise the potential for joint consultation and information sharing with local partners.
Source: Local Connections: Policing with the community, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (0131 244 5614)
Links: Report | SE press release
Date: 2004-Mar
A government White Paper set out a new strategy to deter and disrupt criminal gangs. It proposed new powers to disrupt criminal activity and convict those responsible; better, more strategic use of existing powers, such as tax, immigration and planning laws; and a new 'Serious Organised Crime Agency', which would work closely with specialist prosecutors, police forces, border agencies and the Assets Recovery Agency.
Source: One Step Ahead: A 21st century strategy to defeat organised criminals, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: White Paper (pdf) | Home Office press release | ACPO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Mar
The government announced a new cross-departmental initiative targeted at the 'small core' of offenders responsible for causing the most crime, disorder and fear in their local communities. The government called on the police and criminal justice agencies in each of the 376 local crime and disorder reduction partnerships to prioritise the individuals they knew, using police intelligence information, were causing the most harm.
Source: Press release 30 March 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Mar
A review by the Police Complaints Authority of the use of stop-and-search powers by the police found that in only 7 of 89 cases included did the Authority's investigation result in even partial substantiation of the complaint.
Source: Siobhan Havis and David Best, Stop and Search Complaints (2000-2001), Police Complaints Authority (020 7273 6450)
Links: Report (Word file) | Summary (Word file) | ACPO press release
Date: 2004-Mar
The head of the Commission for Racial Equality said that anti-discrimination laws should be suspended to enable police forces in racially diverse areas to fast-track black and ethnic minority recruits at the expense of white candidates.
Source: The Guardian, 17 March 2004
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2004-Mar
Researchers said that the 'On Track' programme had so far been a 'mixed success', but that the future was promising: between 21 per cent and 36 per cent of children and parents who were identified as having risk factors or problem behaviours improved after On Track intervention. Three other reports attempted to identify key operational lessons from the early experiences of the programme. (On Track is an evidence-based preventative programme that adopts a community approach to tackling crime. It aims to reduce crime by targeting early interventions at the risk factors known to be associated with crime and anti-social behaviour.)
Source: Alan France, Jean Hine, Derrick Armstrong, Margaret Camina, The On Track Early Intervention and Prevention Programme: From theory to action, Online Report 10/04, Home Office (web publication only) | Victoria Harrington, Sara Trikha and Alan France (eds.), Process and Early Implementation Issues: Emerging findings from the On Track evaluation, Online Report 06/04, Home Office (web publication only) | Jean Hine and Victoria Harrington, Delivering On Track, Development and Practice Report 12, Home Office (020 7273 2084) | Paul Doherty, Alison Stott, and Kay Kinder, Delivering Services to Hard to Reach Families in On Track Areas: Definition, consultation and needs assessment, Development and Practice Report 15, Home Office
Links: Online report 10/04 (pdf) | Online report 06/04 (pdf) | DPR 12 (pdf) | DPR 15 (pdf)
Date: 2004-Feb
A National Audit Office report said that, after early problems, the Criminal Records Bureau was delivering reliably each week over twice the number of disclosures of criminal records undertaken by the police under the previous arrangements. The disclosure service offered by the Bureau was also more comprehensive and consistent.
Source: Criminal Records Bureau: Delivering Safer Recruitment?, HC 266 (Session 2003-04), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | NAO press release | Home Office press release | CRB press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Feb
Responding to a government consultation, senior police officers said that the government's programme for police reform was a real opportunity to reshape policing in the face of a rapidly changing society.
Source: Closer to the Citizen, Association of Chief Police Officers (020 7227 3434)
Links: Summary | ACPO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Feb
The government announced its intention to establish a new United Kingdom-wide 'Serious Organised Crime Agency' bringing together the existing responsibilities of the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the National Crime Squad, Home Office responsibilities for organised immigration crime, and the investigation and intelligence responsibilities of HM Customs and Excise in tackling serious drug trafficking. The agency would be centrally funded. An official taskforce was set up to consider the most appropriate form of governance for the agency.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 9 February 2004, columns 58-60WS, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 9 February 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Hansard | Home Office press release | ACPO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Feb
The Home Secretary called for a wider application of the practice (as seen, for example, in many gated communities) where people contributed financially towards security and order, and also environmental quality, in the immediate area in which they lived. He said that this approach should be adopted by local councils as a way of improving community safety and re-engaging residents in local democracy.
Source: Speech by David Blunkett MP (Home Secretary) to New Local Government Network conference 22 January 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Text of speech | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jan