Community-based policing

Community-based policing should be at the heart of any future changes to Scotland's police forces. That was a message I took from my meeting this week with Ayrshire's police commander Bill Fitzpatrick this week ahead of a key Strathclyde Police Authority meeting in the county.

Chief Superintendent Bill Fitzpatrick met me in my role as Police Authority Convener at Kilmarnock Police Office, the Ayrshire divisional headquarters. We discussed the importance of community policing across Ayrshire in a time of budget pressures and potential changes to the number of police forces across Scotland.

Strathclyde Police Authority oversees the £450 million police budget and ensures the force is accountable for policing provided across the west of Scotland. We have an important meeting in Ayr this week that will consider how best to address the looming budget cuts we expect for Strathclyde Police.

It was important to meet up with Chief Superintendent Fitzpatrick to discuss some of the important work police have been doing across Ayrshire before we make some of those decisions.

Community policing has been a key focus for police in this part of Strathclyde which is a mix of towns and rural areas with challenging issues facing the police. This is important as we also consider the future structure of policing across Scotland and potentially reducing the number of forces from eight to three or even one single Scottish force.

This isn't new as people here moved from having an Ayrshire Constabulary in 1975 to merger as part of a larger Strathclyde force. For any change we need to make sure that local autonomy is there for the commander and his officers to respond to calls and incidents where they are needed most, but we also need to ensure that policing remains accountable locally to communities and councils in Ayrshire who fund the service.

We also know there have been real problems in finding room for custody in Ayrshire, which has meant police time wasted taking people who are arrested to cells sometimes more than thirty minutes' drive away often outwith Ayrshire.

The Police Authority has already allocated resources to open new cells in Saltcoats. Having been in Kilmarnock this week, I know that police office also has a pressing need for more custody space which we need to address urgently.

A meeting of the full Authority will take place on Thursday 26 August from 10.30am at South Ayrshire Council headquarters in Ayr. The Authority is formed by 34 locally elected councillors representing the 12 councils that form Strathclyde including North, East and South Ayrshire.

Glasgow Southside

Labour Party members in the new Glasgow Southside seat meet tomorrow evening to select our candidate for next May's Scottish Parliament election.

I have been shortlisted with another three nominees after we were proposed by members at meetings of local Party Branches and affiliated organisations such as the Co-operative Party and trade union branches.

I will be speaking to members at the meeting about my record of election success - running and winning campaigns in marginal seats - along with my experience over seven years as a local councillor in senior roles.


TUESDAY, 20 JULY 2010

Result: I was selected as candidate tonight with 65.5% of votes cast by local members. Thank you to everyone who took part.


Scottish Labour Party press release

CURRAN SELECTED TO FIGHT GLASGOW SOUTHSIDE SEAT FOR LABOUR
SNP 'RIPPING OFF' GLASGOW - STURGEON PUTTING 'PETTY PARTY POLITICS' BEFORE LOCAL PEOPLE

Councillor Stephen Curran has tonight been selected by local Labour party members to fight the Glasgow Southside seat in the Scottish Parliament elections in May 2011.

Councillor Curran will contest the new seat in which Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP is expected to stand for the SNP.

Speaking following his selection, Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate Stephen Curran said:

"The SNP are ripping off Glasgow and letting Scotland down."

"Locally the SNP have ripped off our Council with the worst grant settlement since devolution and ripped off Shawlands by refusing town centre regeneration funds."

"Voters increasingly see Nicola Sturgeon putting petty party politics first as Deputy First Minister in Holyrood."

"I am committed to always putting the Southside first in representing every community across Scotland's most diverse constituency."

"My key priorities are tackling anti-social behaviour and delivering improvements in housing because I know people locally feel particularly let down by the SNP on these issues."

"I am grateful for the tremendous encouragement and support shown across the Southside and delighted to be selected as Labour's candidate."

"I'm already working hard locally with a strong team of MPs, Councillors and party members in campaigning across the new constituency speaking to people and listening to their concerns."

"I'm not taking anything for granted and will fight for every vote."