Violence soared as police numbers cut

CRIME: Violent crime in parts of West Yorkshire has increased by as much as 505 per cent since the county’s police force workforce was cut.

West Yorkshire Police’s pool of officers was 5,168 last year – 505 fewer than it had in 2011 – although the Home Office is currently spearheading a major recruitment drive.

VIOLENT CRIME in parts of West Yorkshire has increased by as much as 505 per cent since the county’s police force has seen cuts to its workforce, research shows.

West Yorkshire Police’s pool of officers was 5,168 last year – 505 fewer than it had in 2011 – although the Home Office is currently spearheading a recruitment drive as part of plans to get 20,000 officers back on the country’s streets.

Research, commissioned by the House of Commons Library, showed that the number of violent offences reported to the force increased from 26,992 in 2011, to 114,362 last year – a 323 per cent rise.

A breakdown of the figures by police ward shows which areas have seen the biggest rises in violent offences reported, with Bradford’s South, East and West wards seeing the highest rise between 2011 and 2019.

Violent crime rose considerably in Bradford West and Bradford East, with both seeing increases of 435 per cent and 499 per cent, respectively.

The highest spike in violence however was seen in Bradford South, where the number of crimes rose by 505 per cent from 1,067 in 2011 to 6,452 last year.

Leeds Central had the highest number of violent crimes reported last year (12,859), which was a 190 per cent rise.

The figures do not take into

account factors such as changes in population. The number of officers cut from each ward has also not been given to correlate against each area’s rise in crime.

Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said the rises

in violence in the county, which is Yorkshire’s biggest in terms of population, exposed “huge failings” in the Government’s approach to dealing with crime.

He said: “These figures make clear the huge failings the Tories have made on crime across the country and the impact that has on local communities.

“This has been coupled with huge budget cuts to services that help prevent crime, such as mental health, youth services and probation.

“And we must never forget each of these figures represents a terrible incident for someone and their family.”

The Yorkshire Post revealed last month that West Yorkshire Police is facing a £30m deficit in its budget for the next financial year, with an internal email informing staff that cuts of up to 15 per cent across all departments were being considered.

Both the Home Office and West Yorkshire Police were contacted for comment.

The Home Office did not respond in time, however a spokesman recently told The Yorkshire Post: “The Government is providing the biggest increase in funding for the police in over a decade and as part of that West Yorkshire Police are receiving up to £485m in funding in 2020/21, an increase of up to £36.5m on 2019/20.

“Police forces in Yorkshire and the Humber will be recruiting more than 500 additional officers in this year alone, as part of the Government’s plan to get 20,000 additional police officers on our streets.”

Each of these figures represents a terrible incident for someone.

Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds.