The crime crisis is getting from bad to worse and the underlying cause is under-funding and reduction in police officers because of the severe austerity measures imposed by the government for the last 8 years. These austerity measures have not yielded any positive results insofar as the deficit and growth in the economy is concerned. It is time now for the government to change tack and get rid of the suffocating austerity measures and replace them with a system that is workable and sustainable. You simply cannot maintain community cohesion when you slash funding to the police service and cut the number of officers on our streets by 21,000. The three most senior police officers in England and Wales have expressed concerns that funding cuts and pressure on resources are hampering their ability to tackle serious crime.
Appearing before the home affairs select committee, Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan police commissioner; gave examples of how cash shortages were posing a risk to public safety. Dick said it would be “naive” to suggest reductions in police officers was having no impact on rising crime. She added: “It is having a massive strain on our people and it cannot go on. We are in the middle of the largest change programme the Met has ever been through. It cannot go on without hard choices – either more money, smaller mission, greater risk of attack.” Dick’s deputy, Craig Mackey, said the budget squeeze could mean officer numbers falling to 27,500, 4,000 officers fewer than now.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “If the Government are serious about keeping all Londoners safe then they need to guarantee that they will fully fund the Met – which means real terms increases, cancelling the planned £400 million of cuts and giving London the full allocation of National International and Capital City (NICC) funds.” Ms Sophie Linden the deputy mayor for policing and crime said “There are number of reason why violent crime has risen across London and one of those is a cut in resources. She added: “There have been 700 million pounds of cuts to the police budget and the number of police officers have dipped below 30,000.
Cressida Dick’s predecessor Sir Bernard (now Lord) Hogan-Howe said financial pressures put the police under pressure and “there are some warning lights flashing”. Association of Police and crime Commissioners stated: Budget cuts will radically change policing. However, with reductions in staff levels and support services already made, further budget constraints will lead to difficult questions on how best to structure police forces to respond to changes in crime, and what this would mean for the local service provided to the public.
Baldev Sharma
Rayners Lane, Harrow
