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Police cuts have consequences for Portsmouth

By 24 January 2019September 8th, 2022No Comments

In recent years, police numbers have fallen and crime has risen by 10%, whilst the Government has slashed our Hampshire Constabulary’s budget by £70m.

Forcing our dedicated police officers to do more for less just isn’t working. That’s why in the House of Commons this week I pressed the Minister for Policing again on proper funding and to share our concerns from Portsmouth.

Yet what do we hear today? The number of police officers in Hampshire has fallen again with official government figures reporting we now have 1,007 fewer officers since 2010, and a staggering 21,339 fewer in England in Wales in total.

As someone who regularly spends time out and about on our city’s streets with frontline police, and meeting with senior officers, I know our local force are doing all they can to provide the best possible service to the public under very challenging circumstances.

The consequences of cuts are increasingly evident in our communities. As I shared with the Minister this week, just 4% of sexual offences now result in a charge and just 14% of robberies. 

And its not just frontline police in our city telling me that. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services has recently published a report sharing examples of the effects of the Government’s austerity measures and recognition that the police are unable to do all they want to because of the reduction in officers and resources.

We can’t allow this Government to keep forgetting Portsmouth’s communities nor allow our hard-working police officers and staff to work under this continued pressure.

But sadly recent funding announcements by Ministers are mere sticking plasters, pushing the cost to local taxpayers. As the Police Federation have said themselves, these Government plans merely make the public pay more for policing and is ‘blatantly unfair’.

Our city’s communities deserve better – and the police want to deliver. In order to do that, we need centrally-allocated investment from Government, rather than a quick funding fix, to pull our police force back from the brink.

I will keep standing up for Portsmouth locally and in Westminster until our police finally get the resources they need to keep our city’s communities safe.