3,000 new bobbies in Labour police plan

A LABOUR government would recruit 3,000 new police officers to work on the beat, the shadow home secretary said yesterday.

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said the party would go over and above the Government’s current recruitment drive to ensure neighbourhood crimes are tackled more effectively.

It comes amid a crisis of confidence in the ability of the police to solve crimes which blight communities.

A series of reports by The Daily Telegraph this year revealed police had failed to solve a single burglary in neighbourhoods covering almost half the country over the past three years.

Labour has previously pledged to bring in an extra 13,000 officers if it gains power on top of a current Government recruitment drive to bolster numbers by 20,000.

Setting out the plans at the joint summit of the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, Ms Cooper said that 3,000 officers would be hired specifically for neighbourhood policing.

She said: “Evidence shows that whether it is tackling repeat offenders, whether it’s dealing with anti-social behaviour, whether it’s gathering the intelligence that prevents extremism and terrorism, from crime prevention to catching and prosecuting criminals, policing needs to be rooted in neighbourhood teams.

“We have set out a funding plan to put 13,000 more police in neighbourhood teams – 3,000 of the remaining uplift, 3,000 officers, 4,000 PCSOS and 3,000 specials to be recruited.”

Ms Cooper distanced herself from suggestions by Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, that forces should focus less on “woke” policing. She said: “I think the problem is that, time and again, the Home Secretary is not focusing on the biggest challenges for policing.

“It’s no use to have tough talk if the walk is weak.”