MP meeting police boss over violence

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark BurnsWilliamson with Sgt Neil Willan in New Street, Huddersfield. Top, inset: Barry Sheerman their area.

“They want to know ‘How do we make our town safer?’ They fear for the safety of their community and for their children.

“My job is to raise the issue as high as I can in London, but also to get more people together to see if we can make a real difference in our community.

“We need a high visibility presence – more officers on the streets in the town – and more resources.

“Intelligence is still improving but the problem is still there.”

He said a lot of the cutbacks to police budgets were the responsibility of the Prime Minister, Theresa May, as decisions were made when she was Home Secretary. A spokesman for Mr BurnsWilliamson said: “As part our routine dialogue with key partners there has been continued correspondence on the theme and a meeting between the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and the MP is due to take place at the end of the month.” Speaking in September, father-of-two Gareth Hughes, 49, who runs Diversions in Imperial Arcade, Huddersfield, said the town needed a deterrent after a run of serious crime incidents. He said: “Enough is enough.” He added: “The way things are going I almost wish for New York subwaystyle Guardian Angels to appear on the streets of Huddersfield so that people can feel safe and enjoy leisure time in the town centre.”

We need a high visibility presence – more officers on the streets in the town – and more resources.