Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Lord Willy Bach, responds to the Provisional Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 2021/22 made on 17 December 2020 by Kit Malthouse, the Minister of State for Crime and Policing
He said:
“After a decade of damaging police cuts, it is still not immediately clear if the government is taking the challenges facing policing and public safety seriously enough.
We have already seen a retreat on an earlier promise to recruit an extra 8,000 officers nationally in the next financial year. This figure has now been reduced by 2,000 officers for 2021-22 which will inevitably have an impact here in Leicestershire.
While we still have work through the detail of today’s statement, it is clear that we will be asked to deliver efficiency savings and that the government expects local council tax payers to pay more towards policing.
We still have fewer police officers in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland than we had a decade ago. Since that time, the population has grown by 10%. The police cannot do more with less and it is disappointing, but crime has risen as a result.
“We are facing difficult decisions in the coming weeks, but the safety of our communities has to be the priority for all of us.”
Ends
Read the full statement here
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2020-12-17/hcws663/
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Posted on Thursday 17th December 2020