AT LAST! POLICE GET £1bn BOOST TO MAKE OUR STREETS SAFE

THE Government announced a £1billion boost for hard-pressed police forces yesterday with the largest investment in law enforcement since 2010.

Policing Minister Nick Hurd confirmed council tax payers would be asked to give an extra £2 a month to fund £509million, just over half the package, for police forces in 2019/20.

Central funds will increase budgets by £161million more, with another £153million allocated to tackle a growing pension crisis which could have resulted in up to 10,000 officers being cut to fund employer contributions.

Counter-terrorism funding will also be increased by £59million to £816million and £90million will be given to tackle organised crime, including drug gangs and fraudsters.

Epidemic

One of Britain’s top police officers yesterday confirmed the investment will mean police and crime commissioners can avoid further cuts and allow chiefs to focus on combating violent crime.

Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner immediately confirmed she will now be able to hire 100 more officers next year.

Kathryn Holloway said: “I now anticipate recruiting 160 new PCs in 2019’20, leading to 100 more in 2020-’21 and 100 more in 2022’23. We need them.”

It has raised hopes that many forces could use the additional money to pay for more bobbies on the beat to tackle warring drug gangs, the knife crime epidemic sweeping across many major cities and growing threats such as cyber crime.

Mr Hurd said: “We are propos-

ing a settlement that could see public investment in policing rise by up to £970million. “This settlement combines increased central government funding with increased local contributions to local policing. It enables the biggest investment in frontline policing since 2010.

“It will allow Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to manage their costs while maintaining their plans to recruit and fill capability gaps, not least detectives. It will strengthen

our capabilities in the fight against serious organised crime and terrorism.

“To me, the critical thing is to now increase the capacity of the police and to fill key capability gaps.”

PCCs will be allowed to ask taxpayers for an extra £24 per year through the policing precept levy to give forces more cash.

Nationally, if all 43 areas were to do this, it would raise the £509million.

West Midlands Police Chief Constable Dave Thompson warned cuts to police budgets mean officers must decide which crimes they can attend. He said:

£59m Increase in funding for counter terrorsim

“The Government is right to recognise that the serious pressures on policing mean we could not wait for a full spending review.

“Increased flexibility through the council tax precept will give chief constables and police and crime commissioners the opportunity to address local issues – with many focusing on violent crime.”

He added: “We think the public would expect to see some real investment in policing to deliver a reduction in crime, so today is a start.”

Chief Constable Mike Cunningham, chief executive of the College of Policing, said: “Policing’s greatest strength has always been its people and they deserve investment in their development as they tackle increasing demand and complexity of crime.”

Officer numbers have fallen by 22,000 since 2010 as budgets have been slashed.

At the same time, major cities have seen increasing levels of violent crime.

Rural areas traditionally unaffected by gangs have seen county lines networks (inner-city drug gangs fighting for control of the rural market) forming in their areas. Police Federation national chairman John Apter said: “This appears to be a sticking plaster solution that injects extra money in the short term but sees the burden falling unfairly on council tax payers. “They are passing the buck to the public.” Shadow policing minister Louise Haigh accused the government of creating a “postcode lottery” with some forces able to raise far more cash than others. She said the Tories had passed “the vast majority of the increase on to ratepayers. It will not meet need and is unfair”.

Durham Chief Constable Mike Barton said: “The only genuine increase is from the local taxpayer and this will allow us to keep what we have got and not replace what we have lost.

“In Durham, there’s significant deprivation and it is those deprived households which are going to be asked to pay more for policing.

“We welcome the money for the pensions but that was always a nationally-created problem which needed a national solution.”

£90m Boost to help tackle organised crime gangs