Skip to main content
About townCommunityCrime

City MP votes to increase police officers in our neighbourhoods

By 30 January 2020No Comments

Stephen Morgan MP has voted in favour of a motion that would have seen a greater number of police officers and the restoration of neighbourhood policing teams. The opposition day debate, which took place yesterday, aimed to address ten years of cuts to forces across the country including Hampshire.

Stephen Morgan MP said:

“In Portsmouth we have seen the direct consequences of fewer police officers and more crime born out of government cuts to police numbers and local authority services.

In backing this motion, I voted with all Portsmouth people who have been affected by crime in mind.

The Government must take responsibility for taking over 20,000 police off our streets and not just restore these numbers but increase personnel in accordance with crime rates.”

Mr Morgan’s action comes amidst recent statistics painting a damning picture of crime in the UK.

Since 2010, the number of police officers each year has fallen, with a 12.4% decrease recorded in 2019 compared with 2019. Subsequently, hate crime has more than doubled and violent crime increased by 13,000 cases in that time.

Mr Morgan added:

“It is telling that Government opposed the Labour proposed motion to properly fund and resource our police force in Hampshire. I’ve long argued the current funding formula penalises Portsmouth and our constabulary.

To simply reinstate the officers the Tories took away is not an improvement, but a tokenistic gesture designed to detract attention from their poor policing record.

Portsmouth people and our dedicated police officers are bearing the brunt of less bobbies on the beat and more crime. I will continue to hold Government to account over their shameful record.”

For some time the city MP has been running a campaign to get more bobbies back on the beat to bring down crime. To show your support visit www.stephenmorgan.org.uk/police