Police cutbacks cannot be blamed for rise in violent crime, says Rudd
Action needed on gang culture
POLICE CUTBACKS cannot be blamed for an increase in violent crime, Cabinet Ministers Amber Rudd and Sajid Javid have insisted as the Government launched measures to tackle the problem.
Critics said cuts to police numbers could not be ignored but Home Secretary Ms Rudd said the evidence did not support the suggestion that the reduction in officers is linked to the problem.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Ms Rudd and Prime Minister Theresa May were “ignoring their record” and there were 21,000 fewer offices than in 2010.
But the Home Secretary said figures suggested the number of bobbies on the beat and instances of violent crime were not linked. “As we confront this issue, I know that the same arguments and criticisms will emerge,” Ms Rudd said.
Meanwhile, Policing Minister Nick Hurd acknowledged that forces were “stretched at the moment”. He said: “We are investing more in our police system because our police system is stretched.”
Today, Ms Rudd will unveil a drive to tackle violent crime. She will challenge social media companies to do more to rid the web of gang-related content as she launches a drive to bear down on serious violence. The Home Secretary is expected to call for platforms to spell out that such material is forbidden on their sites.
POLICING MINISTER Nick Hurd has acknowledged that forces are “stretched at the moment”, as Cabinet Ministers insisted the Government has launched measures to tackle a rise in violent crime.
Critics yesterday said cuts to police numbers could not be ignored, but Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the evidence did not support the suggestion that the reduction in officers is linked to the problem.
And Mr Hurd said he was “pushing back” on the correlation between the fall in numbers and increase in violence facing forces.
“We are investing more in our police system because our police system is stretched,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics.
“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 £1bn 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 fall in officer numbers and this increase in violence because it’s actually much more complicated than that.”
His comments came after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Ms Rudd and Prime Minister Theresa May were “ignoring their record” and there were 21,000 fewer officers than in 2010.
But the Home Secretary said figures suggested the number of bobbies on the beat and instances of violent crime were not linked.
“As we confront this issue, I know that the same arguments and criticisms will emerge,” Ms Rudd said. “One is the contention that there are not enough officers on the streets. The evidence, however, does not support this.
“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 2013-14, police numbers were close to the highest we’d seen in decades.”
National figures show police in England and Wales registered rises of a fifth in offences involving knives or sharp instruments and firearms in the year to September. Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “We have seen knife crime increase in 39 of the 43 police forces across the UK. “It’s not just about austerity but I think when the Home Secretary sticks her head in the sand and suggests that losing 21,000 police officers off our streets doesn’t have an effect, then I think that’s a very naive position.” Ms Rudd is launching a Government strategy to tackle violent crime, which will include a challenge to social media companies to do more to rid the web of gang-related content. The Home Secretary is expected to call for platforms to spell out explicitly that such material is forbidden.
She will also emphasise that stop-and-search is a “vital” tool and announce that Ministers are looking at extending the powers so police can seize acid from suspects carrying it in public without good reason. The issue of stopand-search is politically sensitive because Mrs May, when she was Home Secretary, announced major reforms to the way the power was used.
We are investing because our police system is stretched. Policing Minister Nick Hurd.
THE CURRENT upsurge in violent crime is deeply concerning, and the Home Secretary’s announcement today of measures to crack down on the carrying of knives and acid is to be welcomed.
Yet Amber Rudd’s assertion that there are sufficient police numbers to tackle the wave of violence emanating from a disturbing gang culture among some young people is open to question.
Labour is right to point out that police numbers have fallen in recent years, and that must inevitably put pressure on forces which are striving to both catch offenders and gather intelligence on gangs in order to prevent violence before it occurs.
Nevertheless, the nature of these offences, and the culture that lies behind them, does demand a new approach.
Deterring the young from carrying knives and acid is essential, as is extending the use of stop-and- search powers.
Concerns about civil liberties must not stand in the way of officers with reasonable suspicions searching a suspect for weapons.
But in concert with new measures targeting offenders, the Government should also be addressing the culture that is promoting violence. Some social media content glamorises gangs, and the platforms that carry it should either remove it voluntarily or be compelled to do so. There are groups of young people, particularly in deprived urban areas, who are being drawn towards gangs out of a misplaced sense of loyalty. If the violence is to be stopped in the long term, they must be guided away from this dangerous course and its tragic consequences.