In the flurry of spending announcements that has accompanied Boris Johnson’s elevation to Prime Minister, one caught my eye, or more accurately, stuck in my throat, when reading the detail.
Surrounded by serving police officers, he promised an additional 20,000 of them by 2020 to make our ‘streets safer’.
It makes sense that the PM would make such an announcement, largely because of the lamentable record of his government on crime.
One of the most common concerns that arrives in my inbox, and is raised at my surgeries, are concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour.
Since last month’s disturbing violent episodes in the Shelton area, I’ve been working with members of the community, local councillors and the police to try to address some of the ongoing concerns of local residents.
However, if we are serious about tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, then we have to reverse the damaging cuts and chronic underinvestment in police funding.
Cuts that mean there are now 123,171 police officers in England and Wales, down from 143,000 in 2010, when the Conservatives came to power.
That is 571 fewer police officers in Staffordshire alone. At the same time, violent crime is up, drug related offences are up, thefts are up, and more people have been charged with weapon possession.
The challenges facing the police are evolving and becoming more complex.
The rise of synthetic drugs like ‘monkey dust’ and county line gangs are putting a heavy strain on resources as the police are not only charged with investigatory and policing duties, but stepping up where other public authorities are also facing cuts.
The most senior police officer in the country, Met Police Chief Cressida Dick, remarked back in March that not only is there a direct link between reduced police officer numbers and the rise in violent crime, but broader public sector cuts as a whole mean the police are now having to step into the breach where the NHS, charities and councils can no longer provide services, and this is using up finite resources.
At the time of writing this column, Stoke-on-Trent City Council has announced a total of 248 more job losses and the need for millions of pounds in cuts in their budget.
Some argue that advances in technology can offset a reduction in police officer numbers – this argument, to me, simply does not stack up.
Giving a police officer an iPad or smartphone doesn’t replace the personal relationships that a well-resourced police force can cultivate, the feeling of reassurance of seeing officers on patrol, or the value of integrated neighbourhood policing teams.
If the PM is serious about making our streets safer, he needs to give the police the tools to fight the growing and changing challenges they face.
Restore police officer numbers immediately and pledge further funding to fund future recruitment, reinstate neighbourhood policing, reverse cuts to community services, schools and colleges and local authority youth services that are all part of how we address criminal behaviour in our communities.
Only then will I, and those who visit my surgeries, feel that the government has recognised the folly of cuts over
the past nine years and recognise public safety should never be compromised.
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