Thin blue line is too stretched, admits minister for policing
Home Secretary under growing pressure over claim lower numbers have not led to increased crime
FRONTLINE policing is “stretched” and forces need more investment, the Government has conceded amid calls for more bobbies on the beat.
Nick Hurd, the policing minister, said reductions in police numbers were not linked to a recent increase in violent crime but admitted that “there’s no dispute about the pressure on the front line”.
It came after Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, yesterday warned police cuts were not to blame for rising crime and insisted forces had the officers and funding they needed to tackle violence on Britain’s streets.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph as she unveiled a Serious Violence Task Force, Ms Rudd said the evidence “does not support” claims that “there are not enough officers on the streets”.
But critics were quick to attack Ms Rudd’s stance as Yvette Cooper, the Labour chairman of the home affairs select committee and former shadow home secretary, said she was “astonished” by the claim.
Meanwhile, the Police Federation of England and Wales said it “strongly disagreed” as it accused the Government of having “recklessly cut police numbers”.
Ms Rudd will today unveil plans to tackle violent crime and new laws to clamp down on those who carry weapons, plus extra stop-and-search powers. The row over police numbers came after a week of violence during which nine people were stabbed to death in London, taking the murder rate in the capital to more than 50 this year.
The Government has been adamant that police forces have the resources they need. But Mr Hurd told
Pienaar’s Politics on BBC Radio 5 live: “Now, are they stretched at the moment? Yes they are.”
He said the terms of a new funding settlement meant police forces would receive £460million extra in funding this year. But he continued: “We are investing more in our police system because our police system is stretched.
“It’s not just about, of course, the increase in violent crime, we’re seeing a pattern change in terms of demand on police and we’ve listened and responded to that and that’s why I’ve said this year as a country we’re investing £1 billion more in our police system than we were back in 2015/16.
“There’s no dispute about the pressure on the front line of policing and we’ve responded to that with additional investment. What I’m pushing back on is making a direct link between a fall in officer numbers and this increase in violence, because it’s actually much more complicated than that.”
Ms Rudd dismissed claims that there was a direct link between police numbers and increases in violent crime.
She said: “In the early 2000s, when serious violent crimes were at their highest, police numbers were rising.
“In 2008, when knife crime was far greater than the lows we saw in 201314, police numbers were close to the highest we’d seen in decades.”
Che Donald, vice-chairman of the Police Federation said: “We strongly disagree with the Home Secretary’s statement that police cuts are not to blame for rising crime. Even the police minister Nick Hurd admitted that the police are overstretched.
“The fact is a simple one. This Government has recklessly cut police numbers and funding and we now have significant increases in violent crime, you do the math.” He said the Government “cannot admit they got it wrong and it’s costing lives”. Meanwhile, Ms Cooper said her committee had “heard repeated evidence on how overstretched” police forces are. She also pointed to cuts to neighbourhood policing and youth services as she said the Government was right to take action to combat violent crime, but stressed it must also invest in preventive measures.
A new Home Office strategy published today will include measures to tackle violence through social media, as well as in schools. A task force will also be set up and new laws introduced to restrict access to knives and acid, and to punish more harshly those who carry weapons.