London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 23, 2025

Liz Truss vows to bring back national crime targets for police

Liz Truss vows to bring back national crime targets for police

Plan to publish league tables for forces in England and Wales if she becomes PM condemned as ‘failed approach’

Liz Truss would return to national crime targets – pledging a 20% reduction in murders, other violence and burglaries within two years if she became prime minister – under a plan immediately condemned as a “failed approach” and political meddling.

In another example of the policy arms race with Rishi Sunak as they vie for the Conservative leadership, with limited detail on implementation or costs, Truss said her government would publish league tables for police forces in England and Wales.

An announcement from her campaign team said Truss would “expect” all forces to reduce rates of homicide, serious violence and neighbourhood crimes such as burglary and car theft by a fifth before the end of the parliament, which is December 2024 at the latest.

Chief constables of forces that fail to achieve this would be forced to attend a meeting of the National Policing Board chaired by the home secretary to explain how improvements would be made.

The announcement did not offer any new resources or say how such a dramatic reduction could be achieved, though Truss’s campaign said it believed some chief constables were “not cracking down as hard as they should be” on traditional crime, and were instead focused excessively on identity issues and social media.

A Truss administration would divert training resources and ensure officers were “policing our streets, not debates on Twitter”, the campaign said.

In a statement, the foreign secretary added: “It’s time for the police to get back to basics and spend their time investigating real crimes, not Twitter rows and hurt feelings.”

Liz Truss: ‘It’s time for the police to get back to basics and spend their time investigating real crimes, not Twitter rows and hurt feelings.’


The plans were criticised by a former senior chief constable as a return to a past failed policy, first rolled out under Tony Blair’s Labour government, which could create “perverse incentives” for forces.

Sir Peter Fahy, the ex-chief constable of Greater Manchester police and former vice-president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: “Most police chiefs would be against going back to national targets. We know that going down the targets route often has negative consequences on what police focus on and creates perverse incentives.

“National targets remove discretion from forces and officers, which is the heart of the British system. People chase numbers.

“You need to concentrate on the most vulnerable and not what is an easy statistic. It is a failed approach which has longer-term negative consequences.”

Fahy said of Truss’s rhetoric on online crimes: “It is misleading to say police should not cover the internet, as that is where some crimes start from, such as stalking.”

Truss has said she would maintain the existing government target to recruit 20,000 more police officers. But Fahy said this would produce little benefit if they were pressured to do the wrong thing. “You can have more police officers, but if they are working to a failed model there is not a lot of point,” he said.

The Truss plans are similar to measures discussed by senior Home Office officials and police chiefs in late 2020 and 2021, but which were not enacted. Then, ministers discussed pressing for cuts of up to 20% in offences including homicide, serious violent crime, burglary and vehicle theft, according to sources.

Advocates believed it was fair to ask for the crime reductions in return for 20,000 new officers, replacing those cut during austerity. After opposition from police chiefs, a weaker plan was put in place, including league tables of forces’ performance.

The Liberal Democrats said national police targets involved overly centralised control.

“Local police chiefs and officers on the ground know how to do their jobs better than Liz Truss does,” said Alistair Carmichael, the party’s home affairs spokesperson.

“Making police officers chase arbitrary Whitehall targets won’t make our communities safer or end the scandal of 5,000 unsolved crimes every day. All it does is waste police time and undermine public trust and confidence.

“What our communities really need is not damaging centralised targets but proper community policing, with the officers, resources and time to focus on preventing and solving crimes.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
×