The Home Office has set out its new four year plan including new and key objectives as well as priorities for 2012. The plan replaces the previous plan which was published last November, which reflects achievements to date and lays out plans for the future writes Infologue.com Editor, Bobby Logue. The new objectives include reduced national guidance for police, plans to ensure officers spend less time completing case files and the police appraisal process will also be simplified. There are plans to strengthen the UK border as well as the implementation of ‘Smart zones’ which will speed up the processing of pre-checked low-risk passengers through border control points at certain ports and airports. A new immigration and asylum biometric system will be implemented.
The new key objectives for the Home Office include:
- empower the public to hold the police to account for their role in cutting crime
- free up the police to fight crime more effectively and efficiently
- create a more integrated criminal justice system
- secure our borders and reduce immigration
- protect people’s freedoms and civil liberties
- protect our citizens from terrorism
- build a fairer and more equal society
In addition priorities for 2012 include:
- preparing for introduction of police and crime commissioners
- subject to Parliamentary approval, securing passage of the Protection of Freedoms Bill which will scale back the criminal records regime
- delivering Home Office actions in the cross-government violence against women and girls action plan
- completing work to allow religious premises to apply to host civil partnership registrations
- bringing in new terrorism prevention and investigation measures to replace the control order regime
Watch the Home Secretary and other Home Office ministers talking about the achievements since the Coalition Government came to power in May last year.