MP: Public has lost confidence in police
THE public has lost confidence in West Midlands Police Force, according to an MP. They do not feel the police protect them or respond to burglaries, and the 101 phone service for nonurgent incidents is a “joke”, said MP Steve McCabe (Lab Selly Oak).
He blamed cuts in government funding and said: “Public confidence is at an all time low”.
The MP issued the damning verdict as the House of Commons approved the annual government grant to police forces across England and Wales, including the West Midlands.
After years of cuts, the Government grant for the West Midlands has been frozen at £444.1 million, the same figure it received last year.
But Labour and West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson say this was still a cut in real terms because of inflation.
Total funding for West Midlands Police will actually go up by £9.5 million this year, because Mr Jamieson imposed an inflationbusting £12-a-year increase on the precept added to council tax bills to help fund policing.
He argued that this was still far less than the force needs. It is facing additional costs, such as the government’s decision to end the one per cent-a-year pay cap on police salaries.
Officers are to get a two per cent rise but forces have to find the money to pay for this.
At the same time, official police figures suggest crime is rising.
West Midlands Police recorded 52,176 incidents of violent crime in the 12 months up to September 2017 – up 11 per cent compared to the 46,842 incidents recorded a year previously.
Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons that rising official crime statistics were a result of improvements to the way police recorded crime, when she was chal- lenged by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Mr McCabe said: “The cash freeze in this settlement is actually, once you take inflation into account, a real terms cut.” He added: “It will mean fewer officers, even less neighbourhood policing slower response times and the closure of 28 police stations.” Mr Jamieson said: “West Midlands Police has lost over 2,000 police officers and £145 million since 2010 and we are really seeing the effects now. The current settlement means we’ll still be losing officers.” Mrs May told the House of Commons she had previously asked Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to look at the recording of police crime to make sure forces were “doing it properly”, noting that some changes were made. She added: “We also see £450 million extra being made available to police.”