:01:40. > :01:42.In the West: We're keeping an eye on the criminals, too, but will the
:01:42. > :01:52.new Police Commissioners make offenders like this think twice?
:01:52. > :01:52.
:01:52. > :39:57.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2284 seconds
:39:57. > :40:01.I'll be asking the Minister for Thank you, Andrew. You join us live
:40:02. > :40:04.from Bristol on this Sunday morning. Coming up in the next 20 minutes:
:40:04. > :40:08.Political control over the police - what the new Commissioners will
:40:08. > :40:12.mean to us here in the West. We've already got cameras everywhere, and
:40:12. > :40:17.crime is falling. Will an elected Commissioner make things better or
:40:17. > :40:21.could crime actually rise if they make a mess of the job? Joining us
:40:21. > :40:24.in our little police cell this week is the Lib Dem from Taunton, Jeremy
:40:24. > :40:33.Browne. He's the Minister in charge of crime prevention. And the
:40:33. > :40:39.Conservative from Kingswood, Chris Skidmore. Given that crime is
:40:39. > :40:49.falling, what is the problem? should one on the fact that crime
:40:49. > :40:55.is falling. Crime is at its lowest level since records began. It is
:40:55. > :40:58.great to have good news in the media. But what this is about is
:40:58. > :41:07.trying to improve the accountability of police. At the
:41:07. > :41:12.moment, we have police authorities. They are meant to hold to account
:41:12. > :41:18.and said budgets and priorities of the local police. We want that
:41:18. > :41:27.accountability to be more high profile. The most important thing
:41:27. > :41:31.is that crime is falling, so why change it? Because of the desperate
:41:31. > :41:39.economic circumstances, we are having to make reductions in police
:41:39. > :41:44.budgets. The received wisdom is that crime would rise. Because we
:41:44. > :41:48.are spending money more efficiently, it we would see police deployed
:41:49. > :41:58.with low budgets. What we have to do is make sure we continue to get
:41:59. > :42:01.
:42:02. > :42:05.more of those deficiencies -- deficiencies. Just take Avon and
:42:05. > :42:11.Somerset. The biggest concentration of population is in Bristol,
:42:11. > :42:19.therefore, an elected Commissioner would need to boat from Bristow
:42:19. > :42:29.millions. Whoever is elected would be taking a police and crime
:42:29. > :42:37.
:42:37. > :42:42.Commissioner oath. -- would need of votes from Bristol people. The big
:42:42. > :42:52.cities will have the loudest voice. At the moment, we have a problem
:42:52. > :42:58.
:42:58. > :43:02.because big cities are less neglected and smaller cities. The
:43:02. > :43:10.elected Police Commissioners targeted those hot spots with crime
:43:10. > :43:16.maps. You would find that crime is reduced. If you focus on the small
:43:16. > :43:18.areas, crime is brought down. of the main jobs of the new Police
:43:18. > :43:21.and Crime Commissioners will be providing a clear link between
:43:21. > :43:24.local people and the police in their area. They'll be expected to
:43:24. > :43:34.listen to the concerns of the public and act on them. They'll
:43:34. > :43:38.also have a pot of cash to give to local groups working to fight crime.
:43:38. > :43:43.Caught on camera - crime levels may be going down, but there are still
:43:43. > :43:49.far too many victims. Those committing crimes are desperate for
:43:49. > :43:54.money to feed their drug addiction. Clare was one of them. We have
:43:54. > :44:02.changed her name to protect her identity. For 16 years, I had a
:44:02. > :44:07.heroin habit and had on and off binges on crack cocaine. My it
:44:07. > :44:12.offences for all drug-related, the most severe one was an armed
:44:12. > :44:18.robbery -- robbery. She beat her habit with the help from the
:44:18. > :44:23.Bristol's a drugs project. I was an extremely dark places. I was also
:44:23. > :44:32.on the verge of doing a long prison sentence. If I had not had
:44:32. > :44:36.treatment, I would still be out there, if not dead. I know that
:44:36. > :44:42.without a shadow over doubt. Those running the programme are worried
:44:42. > :44:50.funding could be cut. People would have few opportunities to get the
:44:50. > :44:57.support they need to move on from maybe 10, 15, 20 years history of a
:44:57. > :45:02.problematic drug abuse, alcohol use and crime. They need to make the
:45:02. > :45:07.changes in their lives that people here are doing day-in, day out.
:45:07. > :45:12.may not care about drug addicts, but the money be used is keeping
:45:12. > :45:17.them out of places like these and a streets safer. Figures show that
:45:17. > :45:24.for every �1 spent on drug treatment services in Bristol,
:45:24. > :45:29.almost �5 is being saved on tackling crime. It is not just
:45:29. > :45:35.drugs agencies that benefit. Sex workers and victims of hate crime
:45:35. > :45:40.are two of the groups supported. The charity uses some of their
:45:40. > :45:46.money to pay for CCTV. They put cameras outside one family's home,
:45:46. > :45:50.catching this man/and their car tyres. But from April next year,
:45:50. > :45:56.many of those who work to keep Bristol safe, it may have to fight
:45:56. > :46:02.to keep their funding. They find themselves competing in a much
:46:02. > :46:09.bigger market, their specialist skills be ignored or people are not
:46:09. > :46:16.aware of how effective they are. When you stock -- stop ring-fencing
:46:16. > :46:20.money, you will now have to negotiate with all 43 police and
:46:20. > :46:25.crime Commissioners for a share of the budget. We are worried about
:46:25. > :46:30.small charities because it is often those charities that really can
:46:30. > :46:34.reduce crime effectively. So, while the elections may not have captured
:46:35. > :46:37.the imagination of the public, community safety groups will be
:46:37. > :46:39.keeping a watchful eye on who gets the job.
:46:39. > :46:42.Batook Pandya is from the organisation Support Against
:46:42. > :46:52.Racists Incidents. They are one of the groups that get funding to help
:46:52. > :46:53.
:46:53. > :47:00.prevent crime. Do you think your funding may be at risk? I hope not,
:47:00. > :47:09.David. It is a small pot of money. It started with the Home Office
:47:09. > :47:13.project, going back 21 years ago. I am hoping it doesn't. A new police
:47:13. > :47:18.and crime Commissioner could say to you, sorry, I need to spend his
:47:18. > :47:28.money somewhere else. Off course, and in the present climate, big has
:47:28. > :47:31.
:47:31. > :47:36.been going down and down. It is the money for hate crimes, and we
:47:36. > :47:42.should have a zero-tolerance towards hate crime, or whether from
:47:43. > :47:49.a race, Equality, disability, it we need to support those people.
:47:49. > :47:54.will not be a candidate who does not agree with that, though. Yes,
:47:54. > :47:59.but firm -- I won them to walk the walk cannot talk the talk. If a new
:47:59. > :48:09.Commissioner said, sorry, I want to spend the money somewhere else, is
:48:09. > :48:14.
:48:14. > :48:20.there any buyer of opposing that? - - anyway. There is small scope now
:48:20. > :48:29.for supposing that. People can go and ask the candidates, they can
:48:29. > :48:34.say these are my priorities. And Sue have candidates respond. There
:48:34. > :48:44.is no reason why the budget could not go up as well as down. That is
:48:44. > :48:47.
:48:47. > :48:52.the whole point of localism. seemed reassured you? Taking the
:48:52. > :49:02.point is correct, but what happens if the third sector, which does go
:49:02. > :49:10.
:49:10. > :49:15.a lot of work within the community,... To do that we need
:49:16. > :49:25.that support and a long-term solution rather than chasing money
:49:25. > :49:30.every six months. Christopher wants the mumming -- funding to help
:49:30. > :49:35.victims. On the other hand, you are cutting police officers. A police
:49:35. > :49:40.and crime Commissioner, that will be their priority. There is an
:49:40. > :49:46.issue with cuts. We have cut one million police hours out of
:49:46. > :49:54.backroom staff and put them on the front line. Frontline numbers are
:49:54. > :49:58.falling as well. Crime is falling. You cannot argue against efficiency
:49:58. > :50:05.it when it works. It is not government or police money, it is
:50:05. > :50:15.taxpayers' money. Organisations like yourself, if you can prove
:50:15. > :50:20.
:50:20. > :50:28.that actually do reduce crime, you have nothing to fear.
:50:28. > :50:38.difficulty is it is a small budget, and whether the sector gets left
:50:38. > :50:38.
:50:39. > :50:48.behind in a wider funding picture, that is what my fear is. You need
:50:49. > :50:52.
:50:52. > :50:56.to get out there and publicise your work.
:50:56. > :50:59.There was some welcome news on the jobs front this week - there's been
:50:59. > :51:02.a slight fall in the numbers of people looking for work in the West.
:51:02. > :51:07.Unemployment in our region fell by nearly 2%, according to official
:51:07. > :51:17.figures. But young people are still finding it very hard to get work,
:51:17. > :51:18.
:51:18. > :51:22.and the number out of work for more than a year has never been higher.
:51:22. > :51:25.It was training day at this fundraising agency in Bristol today.
:51:25. > :51:34.They represent dozens of local and national charities, and these new
:51:34. > :51:37.recruits must swat up on all of them. What is the oldest age a
:51:37. > :51:42.supporter can be? For 19-year-old Nathan, it's his first day at work
:51:42. > :51:49.after three years unemployed. feels good, getting up and
:51:49. > :51:52.everything. It makes me film that from this, I can go on to do even
:51:52. > :51:55.more. Nathan's not alone. Nearly 1,000 people have found work in the
:51:55. > :51:59.West this month. It's not a huge fall, but unemployment is coming
:51:59. > :52:08.down. The call centre has so many young people, it feels like a
:52:08. > :52:12.student union, but these, it seems, are the lucky ones. How many young
:52:12. > :52:21.people were out of work before the recession for more than a year? In
:52:21. > :52:26.Bristol, at 34 stop by this morning, this number had risen to 675.
:52:26. > :52:36.this that Pinter here. The younger profile brings a lot of energy and
:52:36. > :52:38.
:52:38. > :52:45.enthusiasm. -- it is a sad thing to hear. So, why are so many young
:52:45. > :52:50.people finding it such a battle? The youngsters, who do not have any
:52:50. > :52:53.skills and experience, are the people getting pushed out. Lucy
:52:53. > :52:58.Bristow has been in recruitment for 20 years, and right now, she says,
:52:58. > :53:03.the job market is as tough as ever. The employee years see it as pretty
:53:03. > :53:09.much a bargain. They can get the people they want with the skills
:53:09. > :53:12.they need, and they do not have to pay for training. Nathan got this
:53:12. > :53:22.job because a friend told him about it and because he was enthusiastic.
:53:22. > :53:27.
:53:27. > :53:31.In a tough market, you need to play every card you've got. The young
:53:32. > :53:35.are paying the price for this financial crunch under your
:53:35. > :53:41.government. I would not suggest that this has been a short-term
:53:41. > :53:47.thing. Structurally, youth unemployment has been sky high
:53:47. > :53:54.since 1997. We had nearly one million young people unemployed
:53:54. > :54:00.pre-crash. It has gone up progressively. In the good times,
:54:00. > :54:08.the previous government did nothing to tackle the structural issue.
:54:08. > :54:15.are talking about young kids. They are talking about the here and now.
:54:15. > :54:24.You are cutting, and that has created austerity. The official
:54:24. > :54:28.term is not in education work for training. The problem is, we never
:54:28. > :54:32.got to grips with this issue. During the good times, we should
:54:32. > :54:41.have focused on youth unemployment. Political parties cannot blame each
:54:41. > :54:46.other. Can you offer them any headway? It is unfair to blame the
:54:46. > :54:50.Government for young people, or when they had 13 years of being
:54:50. > :54:58.educated under the previous government. Youth unemployment is a
:54:58. > :55:01.serious problem. But the Government have created... Well, over one
:55:01. > :55:06.million jobs had been created in the private sector since this
:55:06. > :55:10.Government came to office. We have to create the right environment for
:55:10. > :55:15.employers to create those opportunities. I am very pleased
:55:15. > :55:21.unemployment is going down. It is better than it is in countries like
:55:21. > :55:25.Spain, where half of young people unemployed. We need to do more here.
:55:25. > :55:31.The austerity programme you are both equally committed to is making
:55:31. > :55:38.it very hard for these young people to find jobs. We are borrowing �1
:55:38. > :55:43.billion every three days. Who will pay that money back? Today's young
:55:43. > :55:46.people. Borrowing more and more money we do not have, that is
:55:47. > :55:51.unfair on young people. This generation, people of my age, have
:55:51. > :55:58.a duty to get a grip on public spending for the benefit of young
:55:58. > :56:04.people. In the meantime, it is just tough? We brought him measures like
:56:04. > :56:09.corporation tax to get investment in this country. How long before
:56:09. > :56:15.the long-term young unemployed can realistically see an improvement?
:56:15. > :56:20.We could have been like Greece or Spain, if we increased borrowing.
:56:20. > :56:28.Government money is taxpayers' money. We cannot just plug that gap
:56:28. > :56:33.with borrowing. The role of government is to get private
:56:33. > :56:43.investment and businesses to set up. It's time to take a look back at
:56:43. > :56:44.
:56:44. > :56:48.the political highlights of the week in 60 seconds.
:56:48. > :56:50.A family split can often lead to grandparents being cut out of the
:56:50. > :56:56.lives of their grandchildren. Now, one Bristol grandmother is asking
:56:56. > :57:01.politicians to change the law to guarantee them some access rights.
:57:01. > :57:04.To see your family falling apart is absolutely heartbreaking.
:57:04. > :57:07.Plans to remove the heart of Gloucester from its Parliamentary
:57:07. > :57:10.constituency and put it in the Forest of Dean have been reversed.
:57:10. > :57:13.There were protests a year ago against the idea, which was part of
:57:13. > :57:16.reforms to even out the number of voters in each seat.
:57:16. > :57:20.Campaigners opposed to the imminent cull of badgers have managed to get
:57:20. > :57:23.the issue debated in Parliament. A petition against the cull has been
:57:23. > :57:29.signed by more than 100,000 people after being started by Queen
:57:29. > :57:32.guitarist Brian May. On your bike... You must be joking!
:57:32. > :57:36.Many Bristolians still see it as too dangerous to ride around the
:57:36. > :57:46.city. This week, a group of experts from the Netherlands came here to
:57:46. > :57:50.
:57:50. > :57:56.tell the council how it should be done.
:57:56. > :58:00.Badger culling - more and more controversial by the day. Huge
:58:00. > :58:07.pressure on the Government to change its mind. I think the issue
:58:07. > :58:11.here is we have got to look at what is happening with the farming. We
:58:11. > :58:16.have to have a small cull. All we do not focus on is the number of
:58:16. > :58:20.cows being shot because they get TB in the first place. We need to
:58:20. > :58:28.understand the concerns of the countryside. This is something that
:58:28. > :58:33.needs to be done. You are from rural Somerset. I do. I have met a
:58:33. > :58:38.lot of farmers devastated by the impact of a TB on their herds, and
:58:38. > :58:42.they take it extremely seriously. They see it as a livelihood issue.
:58:42. > :58:47.No one wants to cull any wild animals by choice, but I do not
:58:47. > :58:54.think we should rule out the option of getting to grips with an eternal
:58:54. > :59:01.problem. Sign says you can kill thousands and thousands of badgers,
:59:01. > :59:05.but the reduction in TB is only 10%. Its is a limited trial. If it is
:59:05. > :59:10.ineffective, it will not be extended. We do need to get to
:59:10. > :59:20.grips with the problem. There is in real told him the human cost up to
:59:20. > :59:25.
:59:25. > :59:30.farmers. -- Gabriel told in -- it a real tour in the human cost. Your
:59:30. > :59:35.critics say you're up in the pockets of the farmers. You have
:59:35. > :59:39.got to remember that the dairy industry is an extremely important
:59:39. > :59:42.part of our economy. That's it from me, but don't go
:59:42. > :59:45.away because Andrew has more for you. Thank you to our guests,
:59:45. > :59:48.Jeremy and Chris. If you want to know more about the candidates