PCC slams Home Sec on police funds

THE Police and Crime Commissioner for Durham Constabulary has challenged Home Secretary Amber Rudd to explain how she will ensure police have the resources they need to protect the public after she admitted funding had been cut.

Ms Rudd insisted police forces tell her they have sufficient funding, when she was interviewed on BBC One’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday.

But Ron Hogg, Durham’s Labour Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), staff cuts had left officers overworked - with some taking sick leave or experiencing mental health issues as a result.

And he has written to Ms Rudd to insist that spending cuts are undermining the police.

He said: “Since 2010 Durham Constabulary has lost 25% of its officers and the strain is showing. Sickness levels continue to rise with stress and mental health issues now presenting amongst the main causes of sickness absence. This is a trend reflected amongst our colleagues in the other emergency services.”

Mr Hogg also highlighted figures in July which showed crime was increasing.

There were 60,467 violent crimes recorded by police in the North East in the 12 months up to March 2017.

He told the Home Secretary: “Recorded crime continues to rise. Recent figures for Durham Constabulary show an increase of 25% in victimbased recorded crime. This is a national trend as well as a local one.”

He added: “When we assess the changing nature of crime we note that cyber crime and sexual offences continue to increase unabated. These are crimes which require specialist skills and understanding. As we seek to recruit experts to tackle cyber crime, the public sector pay cap is affecting our competitiveness with the private sector, and thus impacting upon our ability to recruit successfully.”

Ms Rudd agreed that police funding had been cut when she spoke to the BBC.

She said: “I accept that between 2010 and 15 there were cuts in the police budget, but I would also ask other people to accept that crime came down in that period.

“The fact is crime overall is down by a third since 2010. The police have done a fantastic job in managing with those cuts.”

She added: “We’ve actually protected the police budget between 2015 and 20. We have asked the police to find the extra 1%, because you’re right, they’re getting 1% on their salaries and one per cent additional.

“The fact is that’s £24m a year. They have about one and a half billion in reserves.”

She said police forces were finding innovative ways to deal with funding cuts.

“I visited a police station recently which had made a major move from one police station to another. They were saving themselves, they told me, £700,000 a year because of the move, and they were able therefore to recruit another 20 police officers.

“Some police offices are being really sensible and innovative in the way they manage their budget.”