Policing Numbers and Tory Smoke and Mirrors

Margaret Mullane, Labour PPC for Dagenham and Rainham, has been running a sustained campaign to increase policing and police accessibility across the constituency. She has now responded to the statements made by the leader of Britain’s police chiefs, Gavin Stephens, which reveal the true picture of police numbers and the budget crisis faced by police forces throughout the nation. 

Margaret commented “We hear the spin from the Government about police recruitment numbers and communities wonder how that could be when our own eyes tell us that the police on our streets are overstretched to breaking point. 

Well, now a light has been shone on the situation that exposes the Tory spin as just that, spin. Cuts to police budgets have resulted in thousands of police backroom staff jobs being lost. This has meant that 6,000 of the reported recruits to policing numbers are not policing our streets, they are having to backfill the lost jobs.   

Police staff, which include police community support officers, forensic experts and administrative workers, have been made redundant and have borne the brunt of the squeeze.” 

Margaret added “The lid has been lifted to reveal the true picture as opposed to the Tory fantasy. Gavin Stephens, Chair of the National Police Chiefs Council and previously Chief Constable of Surrey said the equivalent of 6,000 officers were doing roles usually or better performed by police staff, and thus are not on the streets. 

He went on to point to the financial position police forces are facing – a £3.2 billion cash deficit and predicted that the savings the police will have to make to balance the books will come from further staffing cuts. 

The Tory Government has presided over this situation, instead of spinning their stories they need to get a grip or get out of the way and call a General Election.”