Government must invest in policing
22 July 2019
New figures revealing increases in recorded crime should show the Government it needs to boost police funding, according to the chair of Hertfordshire Police Federation.
Geoff Bardell spoke out after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) issued its latest bulletin showing firearms offences increased by three per cent, robberies by 11 per cent and violence against the person by 20 per cent during the year to the end of March 2019, compared with the previous 12 months.
Stalking and harassment figures went up by 50 per cent, rape offences by nine per cent and drug offences by 11 per cent during the same period.
“The Police Federation has been arguing for some time that the cuts to police budgets would have consequences. Sadly, it is our communities who are feeling the impact as more and more people are falling victim to crime and our officers whose health and wellbeing is suffering due to the pressures of trying to do more with less,” says Geoff.
“I hope these latest figures prompt the Government to take action. We have heard politicians say the austerity measures are over but we now need to see a re-investment in policing as a matter of urgency.
“The cuts mean we have 22,000 fewer police officers on the streets of England and Wales than we did in 2010 but we have seen no corresponding reduction in demand for a police response and, in fact, instead we are being called on more and more as we attempt to pick up the gaps left as other organisations struggle to maintain their own services.
“We may have seen a slight increase in officer numbers in the last year but we still have nothing like the number we need if we are to provide a quality service for our communities, fighting and prevent crime, protecting the vulnerable and keeping order.”
The ONS figures were released along with statistics on crime outcomes, workforce strength and assaults on police officers which have increased from 26,000 to 30,000 in the last year.
John Apter, chair of the Police Federation, has also called on the Government to act.
He said: “A new Prime Minister will soon lead our country and one of his first duties must be to prioritise on public safety. We need more police officers and although there has been an increase of just 766 police officers in the past year, this number pales into insignificance when compared to the loss of more than 22,000 officers due to cuts in our funding.
“Hundreds of officers will have little or no impact on our ability to protect the public. To make a real impact on our operational performance, we need thousands not hundreds of new officers. This should be the priority of the new Government which should be determined to protect the safety and security of everyone in the country.”
Find out more in the full reports.
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