Federation welcomes Labour pledge to cut crime

24 March 2023

Sir Keir Starmer has set out ‘five missions’ for policing, which include halving knife crime and tackling violence against women and girls.

The Labour leader promised to restore confidence in policing.

He said a government he leads would place specialist domestic abuse workers in every police control room and a specialist rape unit in every force. There would be dedicated rape courts, Sir Keir said, branding current prosecution rates “a disgrace”.

Sir Keir, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, said: “As somebody who has worked in criminal justice for most of my life, I also know that far too often, the inequalities that still scar our society - class, race, gender - do find an expression in the very system that is supposed to protect us all, without discrimination.

“This is personal - it’s Labour's plan to tackle the crimewave gnawing away at our collective sense of security. But it’s also unfinished business in my life’s work to deliver justice for working people.”

The Government said Labour was “too weak to keep our streets safe” and blocked the deportation of foreign criminals, with some going on to reoffend.

Suffolk Police Federation chair, Darren Harris welcomed the ideas put forward by Sir Keir Starmer, providing these can be “properly resourced”.

Darren explained: “Our primary goal as police officers is to protect the public and bring offenders to justice. In that we are full-square behind Keir Starmer in wanting to stamp out knife crime and ensure that women and girls can feel safe at home and on the streets, free from the threat of physical and sexual attacks.

“We also welcome the promise of specialist units and of 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers on top of those already being recruited. It is important to recognise though that our colleagues are already at full capacity with high workloads – after a decade of falling numbers, we are only now starting to get back on our feet.

“My plea to the politicians, of whatever party, is that targets can only be met if policing is properly resourced and funded. This must be fundamental if we want to see results.”