Blue christmas ‘Funding cuts have effectively created a policing wasteland’
While we may often be aware of police cars flashing past with their “blues and twos”, nearly half of the population in Kent hasn’t seen a PC or a PCSO on foot in their neighbourhood for the past 12 months, according to research highlighted by a new social network called Nextdoor.
The research was carried out by Ipsos Mori for Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and asked a cross section of 880 residents in Kent when they last saw a policeman on foot in their neighbourhood.
Seven per cent saw a bobby at least once a week, 10 per cent once a month, but 47% said they hadn’t seen one in a year.
The measure placed Kent 10th from worst in a table of “least visible” police forces.
Bedfordshire was the worst with 60% of the population saying they hadn’t seen a policeman in the past 12 months. South Wales was the best, with 19% reporting they’d seen a police- man on foot every week.
Nextdoor, which launched three months ago, has the mission of “bringing back a sense of community through the power of technology”.
Founder Max Chambers said: “Thousands of people are coming together to form ‘virtual neighbourhood watch’ groups, in an effort to fill the gap left by an outdated police-funding formula, and deep policing cuts that have seen forces shed 31,000 officers and staff since 2010.”
Mr Chambers, a former policing adviser to David Cameron, said: “Police funding cuts have effectively created policing wastelands.”
Kent’s Assistant Chief Constable Jo Shiner said: ‘It is our vision to provide a first-class service that is both visible and accessible.
“Additionally, police have had to react to changing crime trends, such as the emergence of online crime including the exploitation of children.
“Most of this work requires officers to carry out inquiries that could not be completed on foot patrol.”
“Kent Police patrol the county on a 24/7 basis to proactively tackle crime, as well as react to calls for help from the public; often the most effective way to do this is in a vehicle rather than responding on foot.”
For information on Nextdoor, email max@nextdoor.com
For the full survey results, visit http://tinyurl.com/policevisible