Police outwitted, say police

Organised crime gangs are "outwitting police," said Sir Paul Stephenson at the annual John Harris Memorial Lecture last night. Apparently no more than 11 per cent of around 6,000 crime gangs are targeted by police each year - that's 11 per cent of an estimated 38,000 villains. Stephenson said: "[Some criminals] have learnt that if they become sufficiently organised and sophisticated - and by definition they often are - then our reach is no greater than our ambition, and our ambition has been less than it should have been."

This isn't new from top coppers - it's not the first time that it's been flagged up that the UK response to organised crime might be less coherent than one might like - in particular that there are few opportunities for police to co-ordinate their efforts nationally.

Sir Paul's cunning plan is to reject suggestions of centralising efforts even further. Instead, he says, we should take a leaf out of the big book of counter terrorism, and have a national co-ordinator overseeing a series of regional hubs. But elected officials in charge of police oversight will be a hindrance not a help, as it's not a sexy issue and nobody wins votes by scooping up organised crime gangs. "Serious organised crime affects everyone in this country. It's a surcharge on everything we buy," he says.

What do we say? Should we be fighting OC like we fight terrorism - the same commitment, the same sophistication? Will there be any political backing for such a move - either at the higher echelons of government or within the police itself? And would elected police overseers be a waste of public money?

Plenty in there to chew on. I'm willing to bet Smokey'll have an opinion or twelve...

Edited to add: Sir Paul adds: "It is important that I stress that I am talking about the gap that exists outwith the effective operational remit of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) - a gap located within policing and police forces." Should SOCA get bigger then?