Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has dismissed Boris Johnson’s plan to give all crime victims the name of a police officer who will lead their investigation as a "ridiculous gimmick."
The idea is set to part of a raft of measures the Prime Minister will unveil on Tuesday, 27 July, but it has already been widely mocked by crime experts and criticised by the Police Federation, who represent rank-and-file officers.
The idea could prove popular, especially with elderly people who like to have a name they can follow up queries with. But experts say it is unworkable when the police work on a shift system and often move duties and teams.
But Starmer, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, told the radio station LBC: “This is just a gimmick by the prime minister yet again - he loves soundbites, he loves slogans, he loves gimmicks.”
He added: ”This one won’t work. If anything it will make things worse because individual officers work shifts, they’re doing investigations, they’re off duty. It will actually slow things down. It’s an ill-thought-through gimmick.”
The chairman of the Metropolitan Police’s federation, Ken Marsh, told PA: “If that officer is on a shift pattern or off sick or on holiday, that just puts added pressure on that officer. It doesn't work in that way - you can't start singularly naming officers because by the sheer nature of their work. If they're not at work, what happens then?”
The government is also expected to announce plans to publishing league tables for the time taken to answer 101 and 999 calls, similar to school league tables.