'No apologies' for police magazines

Kent Police Authority has hit back at claims it is wastingthousands of pounds of public money on its publications.

In response to research published by pressure group theTaxPayers' Alliance showing that the authority spent Pounds 147,973on the Policing Kent magazine and newspaper in the last financialyear, authority chairman Ann Barnes said she would "make absolutelyno apologies for our publications".

The Alliance research shows Kent as spending more than any of thecountry's 43 policing authorities on the two publications. ThePolicing Kent magazine, including a local policing summary for thepublic which is required by law, cost Pounds 68,801 and thenewspaper, which has now been axed, cost Pounds 79,172.

The spend topped the poll of authority spends on the obligatorysummary and other publications. Second place went to Thames Valleywith Pounds 95,470 spent on the summary and another Pounds 15,000 onprecept leaflets.

Wiltshire police spent nothing after having the summary includedin a council tax booklet.

Emma Boon from the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Kent Policeauthority is amongst the highest spenders on its local policingsummary. There are rules that say authorities have to keep thepublic up-to-date on what's going on, but this could be done onlineto save Kent taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds.

"The authority has made a step in the right direction byscrapping the Policing Kent newspaper but should go further andpublish its summary online to save more. This is just one exampleof how spending can be cut to minimise the pressure on frontlineservices."

The alliance says the Pounds 68,000 could be used to pay for anextra police officer or minimise pressure on frontline services.

But Mrs Barnes says publication online does not reach everyoneand door dropping is the best way to make sure everyone in thecommunity gets information, including those who do not have accessto the internet.

She said: "I make absolutely no apologies for our publications.The Police Authority has a duty, by law, to inform local peopleabout what the police are doing, how they're performing and futurepriorities.

"We believe the best and most cost effective way to reacheveryone is by posting 13 district-based magazines throughletterboxes. Publishing information online does not reach all crosssections of the community. It's important we reassure people, evenin times of change, that good quality policing continues.

"We know from research by MORI, a leading market research companyin the UK, that the public wants to know what their local police aredoing.

"The Policing Kent publications won two awards last year from theChartered Institute of Public Relations. We take pride in deliveringa quality publication that's keeping the public up to date with someof the biggest shake-ups to policing in years, including thecomprehensive spending review."

"It's more vital than ever that people understand what's going onwhere they live."

The authority also said criticisms of a glossy magazine areunfounded because gloss paper is cheaper for production than matt.