‘Government must act on crime’
14 May 2019
The Government needs to stop trying to maintain its argument that cuts to policing have not affected crime levels and re-invest in the police service, says West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke.
Rich was speaking after the latest police-recorded crime figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed crime is continuing to increase in all but a few categories.
The headline figures for the Crime in England and Wales: year ending December 2018 report showed:
- A six per cent increase to 40,829 in the number of police recorded offences involving knives or sharp instruments
- A six per cent increase in the number of homicides to 732, a four-year high
- A 12 per cent increase in fraud offences
- A 10 per cent increase in sexual offences
- A 46 per cent increase – the largest increase of any category of crime – in stalking and harassment, and
- A 28 per cent decrease in computer misuse.
Rich said the Government owed it to police officers and the public to put money into policing so forces could tackle crime.
He explained: “Police officers are doing their best and forces are trying to prioritise how they use their reduced resources, but policing has been severely under-funded for years now and there is only so much we can do.
“Since 2010, we have lost almost 22,000 police officers across England and Wales and we have seen no corresponding fall in demand, in fact I would say the opposite is true.
‘We need to see a re-investment in policing so that we can provide our communities with the visible police presence we know they are crying out for. Effective community policing is the cornerstone we need to build on. Community based officers provide reassurance to the public but also act as the Force’s eyes and ears in terms of getting the intelligence it needs to tackle all crimes.”
