Government must honour policing promises

9 January 2020

ESSEX Police Federation has challenged the new Government to make good on its promises for policing.

Steve delivered a message to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel after their Conservative Party won the General Election.

He said: “Traditionally the Conservative Party were considered the party of the police, and under your predecessors you very much lost that mantle in the eyes of those charged with delivering policing. I’m interested to see how hard you work to recover it and wish you every success in doing so.

“We’ll try hard to work with this leadership in delivering and hoping to deliver the best here in Essex.”

The Federation has also asked the returning Conservative MPs in Essex to see through the promises made in the election manifesto. The party has promised an extra 20,000 police officers on the streets. Essex has already allocated funding for 135 additional officers meaning that by March 2021 Essex Police will have grown to 3,353 officers.

Steve added: “We’ve got some politicians who appear to be pro-police and pro the people that deliver policing. We hope to see some of those election promises delivered on. For the first time in a long time politically, things are far warmer than they have been in quite some time.”

Essex Federation’s comments echo those of the Police Federation of England and Wales.

Speaking earlier this month, Chair John Apter said: “I welcome the pledges that have been made to protect our hard-working, dedicated officers and the public. The extra funding for an uplift in Taser which was a significant win for us after months of campaigning – and the recruitment drive is well underway.

“But I must stress that police officers have been battered and bruised, and they cannot tolerate any more broken promises. Policing has been failed so many times in the past, if the safety and security of our public is truly a priority, then this must change.”