Police Cut-backs Threaten to undermine fight against crime
May 21, 2006 12:01 PM
In Stockport Express
In Stockport Express
Stockport is to lose four police officers this year. Last week the Chief Constable set out his plans to balance his budget, which is millions short this year thanks to Government cut-backs. There are hints of more cuts to come, at a time when my surgeries are full of residents worried by so-called 'low level crime'.
After all the hard work of the last few years in the town to tackle the plague of anti-social behaviour - including extra on the Council Tax to pay for more officers on the beat, and an anti-crime partnership between Police and Council that has received national praise, it is a bitter disappointment.
How can cutting police numbers make any sense at a time when public concern about crime is rising? It is back to the bad old days of the Tories - they cut more than a thousand police nationally - but surely we should expect better from a Labour Government.
Stockport Council has played its part in clamping down on anti-social behaviour, banning the drinking of alcohol in the street, and putting in place 'dispersal orders' in hot-spots, allowing the police to move on unruly groups. When necessary the Council has put in place both ASBO's and "ABCs" - Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, which are more suitable for younger tearaways. But even so the most common complaints I get are about the lack of effective police response when there is trouble.
The Chief Constable does actually agree with residents - he says he needs MORE police to deliver a proper service. He wants to invest extra money on a proper telephone system so that reporting incidents is not such a lottery. And he wants his officers to face less paperwork and spend more time out on the street. Instead he is forced to CUT the number of officers he has, there is no timetable for a new telephone system, and officers will finish up sitting at desks for longer because he cannot afford to keep clerical staff on. It is madness.
The four Liberal Democrat MPs in Greater Manchester have moved a motion in Parliament backing the Chief, and calling for the Government to give him the resources he needs to deliver the police service that everyone knows we need here. MPs from the other parties have been slow off the mark in supporting us. Perhaps now the real effects of the cuts are clear, they will join us in pressing the Home Office to think again.
Meanwhile, it really IS still important to report any incident promptly, making sure you insist on having a Crime Number. Even if the police don't attend that particular incident (perhaps because they have been called to an even more serious one), getting a Crime Number makes sure that location gets attention next time their patrol strategy is decided.
End
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