Labour’s Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, has congratulated all 43 police forces for delivering the Policing Pledge for every community across England and Wales.

The Pledge, which sets out what the public can expect from the police, gives local people a better say over how their communities are policed and the opportunity to hold the police to account - to ensure they are getting the service they want.

The national Policing Pledge gives the public a clear minimum standard of service, including:

* contact telephone numbers and maximum response times to emergency, urgent or priority calls.
* regular surgeries and meetings between the local police and the community.
* local crime information including what has happened to those brought to justice in your neighbourhood
* neighbourhood policing teams will spend at least 80 per cent of their time visibly working on behalf of the public in their neighbourhood.
* in addition to the national standard every neighbourhood will have a local pledge by which to hold their local teams to account

The Policing Pledge is one part of a package of radical reforms set out in the Policing Green Paper earlier this year to build on achievements, like the 40 per cent reduction in crime since 1997.

Labour’s Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, said:

"The public are our strongest weapon in tackling crime and the Policing Pledge is a clear deal on what you can expect from the police. I passionately believe that building confidence by giving you more local crime information, listening to your concerns and making your priorities our priorities we will drive up the quality of policing for you and your communities.

"I congratulate all 43 police forces for their hard work and dedication to deliver the Policing Pledge for their public. For the first time, you will know the minimum standard of service you should receive and you will have a greater say and influence over how your streets are policed.

"The Policing Pledge is just part of a package of radical reforms introduced for the police this year which include cutting red tape to give the police more freedom to get on with the job of reducing crime and removing all but one central target imposed on police forces - to increase your confidence."