Keir Starmer slams Boris Johnson’s ‘ridiculous gimmick’ named officer proposal in crime reduction plan: ‘If anything it’ll make things worse, slow things down’

Keir Starmer said Monday that the Prime Minister's plan to provide crime victims with the name of an officer who will lead their case is a 'ridiculous gimmick,' echoing the criticisms of the Police Federation. 

Boris Johnson is set to announce the full crime beating plan Tuesday, but teased the named officer proposal in the Sunday Express. He vowed to ensure that every victim of a crime is given 'a named officer to call, someone who is immediately on your side.' 

'This is just a gimmick by the prime minister yet again – he loves soundbites, he loves slogans, he loves gimmicks', the Labour leader said on LBC Monday morning. 

'This one won’t work ... if anything it will make things worse because individual officers work shifts, they’re doing investigations, they’re off duty. It will actually slow things down. It’s an ill-thought-through gimmick,' Mr Starmer added. He said that officers have too many cases to be a sole point of contact. 

'Of course have a system where victims get information, they're consulted, they're engaged,' Sir Keir continued. 'I'm absolutely in favour of that, I would actually put that in law.'

Keir Starmer called Boris Johnson's plan to provide crime victims with the name of an officer who will lead their case a 'ridiculous gimmick'.

The Police Federation, too, said the pledge was unworkable and would achieve little in the face of the Tories’ record of cutting their resources.  

At least 667 stations with front counters have been shut since 2010 and, between then and 2018, forces in England and Wales lost 21,732 officers – a drop of 15 per cent.   

'If that officer is on a shift pattern or off sick or on holiday, that just puts added pressure on that officer,' Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, told PA. 'It doesn't work in that way - you can't start singularly naming officers because by the sheer nature of their work... if they're not at work, what happens then?'

Ken Marsh, Metropolitan Police Federation chairman, said of Johnson's named officer plan: 'It doesn't work that way.' 

Starmer also backed the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, in announcing it had no confidence of Home Secretary Priti Patel. He said he was 'not surprised' by the move, adding that her position is 'untenable'.  

 'They, police, have been through added challenges over the last 18 months', Starmer said. 'They've got no pay rise, and they feel very, very let down by our Home Secretary'

Among No 10's other proposals outlined in the Express are publishing league tables for 101 and 999 call answering times, putting more police into dealing with 'the tiny minority of truant kids', and intensifying efforts against county lines drug gangs.

 'We need now to redouble our efforts, to continue to put more police out on the street, and to back them all the way,' Johnson continued. 

The Conservative party's 2019 manifesto pledge to recruit 20,000 new officers, of which over half have been hired. 

Last week Starmer called Tories the 'party of crime and disorder', pointing to a Labour analysis that found police budgets are down £1.6 billion from 2010.