David Spencer
@DaveASpencer
Head of Crime & Justice for Westminster think tank, Co-founder @Police_Now, Ex @metpoliceuk police officer, "Not a terrible human", "Common sense personified"
Spoke with Jane Garvey and @fifiglover on @TimesRadio yesterday following the release of new crime figures. Main points: 1. Property crime is going through the roof: shoplifting up 20%, theft person up 34%, robbery against businesses up 50%. 2. Overall 7% increase in crime…
Interesting piece by @rorygeo - I'm totally unconvinced by a Royal Commission for policing. These are decisions for elected officials. “What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable? And how can we get rid…
🧵 Why a Royal Commission won’t save British policing or make us any safer. It might promise gravitas and free inquiry. But in a system riddled with progressive ideology, how could it possibly deliver for the British people? New Substack 👇
Spoke with the @DailyMail on the latest crime figures: "There is a property crimewave going on, driven by a failure on the part of police, the Government and the criminal justice system to take these matters seriously. There needs to be a clear message that if you commit these…
Labour is accused of giving 'free rein' to criminals as new figures reveal one theft is recorded every MINUTE trib.al/x2rf135
Easily into the top 10 police stories of the year so far…. PC Reg Hollis helps nick a shoplifter! theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/j…
The idea that police recruitment has “exacting standards” is clown-like when the bleep test standard is set as low as 5.4. And never mind the national sift process!
This appears to be taking the concept of Operational Independence to a whole new level. Based on these comments the entire operation appears to be independent... of the Chief Constable.
“It’s not for me to comment and to try and criticise or indeed to examine that operation…” BJ Harrington, Chief Constable, Essex Police If it's not the job of the Chief Constable then whose job is it?
“It’s not for me to comment and to try and criticise or indeed to examine that operation…” BJ Harrington, Chief Constable, Essex Police If it's not the job of the Chief Constable then whose job is it?
That there has been a 7% increase in police chiefs over the the last year - at the same time as a 1.5% fall in constables suggests (yet again) that something is going very awry...
What do we want? Fewer coppers! When do we want them? Now! What do we want? More police chiefs! When do we want them? Now! 🔻1,751 fewer constables (-1.5%) 🔺17 more chief officers(+7.1%) If this is 'mission-led government', then the Safer Streets Mission is all but over.
Very disappointing to see that there has been a fall in police officer numbers over the last year, despite the Government committing to an increase in their General Election manifesto. The whole system of police recruitment, training and retention is broken.
Police workforce figures just out for March 31st 2025 show Police Officer numbers by headcount *DOWN* by 1,316 - from a record high of 149,768 on 31/03/24 down to 148,452 on 31/03/25. The same trend is evident in FTE (Full Time Equivalent) numbers. Conservatives delivered…
Discussed crime and justice policies and the public's expectations on @TalkTV with @Iromg this morning following @reformparty_uk's announcements yesterday. "David Spencer, Head of Crime and Justice at Policy Exchange - very sensible man" youtube.com/watch?v=YtOvNQ…
Discussed crime and justice policies and the public's expectations on @LBC with @NickFerrariLBC this morning following @reformparty_uk's announcements yesterday. "Are there votes to be had in this area?" "There certainly are votes to be had here" youtube.com/watch?v=heU3H_…
Separated at birth?
Happy 12th Birthday to Prince George! 🎂 📸Josh Shinner
Discussed crime, policing and sentencing with @GBNEWS over the weekend. The message from the public is clear - they want to see a tougher approach taken to crime and criminals. youtube.com/watch?v=l25rSp…
The data here is taken from my @Policy_Exchange report "Crime and Closing the Toughness Gap" which we published earlier this year. policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/upl…
1/ Today’s crime and justice announcements by @ReformParty_UK are informed by the fact that supporters of every political party - want a tougher approach to crime. Polling for @Policy_Exchange showed this was true across every demographic group and party affiliation polled.