Put bobbies on the beat, not online

The last time that police numbers were as low as they are now was in the first few years of Tony Blair’s Labour government. The biggest critics of the decline were the Conservatives. Now the size-12 boot is on the other foot. The most recent official figures show that in England and Wales last year there were 122,404 warranted officers, the smallest number since 1981, when the population was significantly smaller than it is now.

Historically, however, this is still high. In the 1960s there were around 100,000 police, but they were much more visible. Moreover, serious crimes were investigated not ignored. Today, even though there are substantially fewer recorded crimes than in the mid-1990s, chief constables say they have too few officers to carry out basic police work.

A Channel 4 documentary broadcast yesterday disclosed how police across the country are screening out crimes which then never get investigated. While this has long been the practice for minor offences, these now include serious offences that cause great personal anguish, such as burglaries. Moreover, fewer police than ever are deployed on the streets while the number of stabbings and shootings is on the rise.

Theresa May recently denied any direct causation between crime and police numbers, which is not what her party was saying 15 years ago. But there is a connection between how police are used and their ability to prevent or investigate particular offences. It is at least arguable that the number of police that we have now would be adequate were they properly deployed. But many are engaged in activities that of necessity keep them in their offices, such as tracing online crooks and monitoring social media sites for “hate crimes”. In the past 15 years, the tasks of the police have changed considerably whereas the requirements of the public to feel safe on the streets and to have the violation of their homes investigated have not. Indeed it is questionable whether many of these online offences should be looked into by the police at all.

Last week, the Prime Minister signalled the end to austerity and the provision of more money for public services. When that happens policing must be a priority: the Government has become too complacent about the implications of cuts. But the condition for extra funding must be that the new recruits are used to bolster front-line policing.