Police numbers ‘slashed into oblivion’ as Brits really feel unsafe – search your space

More than 600 police group help officers have been taken off the streets in only one yr, Home Office statistics have revealed.

The complete variety of PCSOs have been “slashed into oblivion” below the Tories, dropping to simply 7,651 throughout England and Wales. When the Tories got here into energy in 2010 PCSO numbers have been at 16,918, however have been falling ever since.

Some 611 fewer PCSOs have been on the streets in September 2023 in comparison with the earlier yr. The hardest hit police power was Kent, which noticed its PCSOs numbers down by 67% in simply 12 months. This introduced their complete variety of PCSOs to round 70, down from greater than 200 within the earlier September.

In normal, the North East and South East have been disproportionately impacted by cuts, seeing greater than 20% decreases in PCSOs in comparison with the general common cuts of seven% throughout England and Wales.

The Lib Dems, who carried out the analysis, slammed the Conservatives, arguing that “years of putting resources in the wrong places has decimated frontline policing including PCSO numbers”.
The occasion is asking for a return to correct group policing, the place officers are seen, trusted and targeted on their native neighbourhoods.

Lib Dem Home Affairs Spokesman Alistair Carmichael mentioned: “Why are the Conservative determined to keep repeating the same mistakes? We know that community officers play a vital role on the frontlines, keeping our communities safe. Yet Conservative ministers keep slashing their numbers into oblivion.”

He added: “Again, this Government is failing the public on crime – and it’s just not good enough. The Conservative must finally restore proper community policing, and invest in putting visible community officers on our streets.”