Local MP Alex Cunningham is calling on the Government to rethink its approach to policing after figures have shown that Police numbers have fallen to the lowest for a decade, including the loss of 155 in the Cleveland Police Service since March 2010.
These latest figures show that nationally there are now 8,000 fewer officers on the streets, at a time when personal crime, which includes theft and violence, has gone up by a startling 11 per cent — the biggest increase in a decade.
Labour is calling for the Government to reopen the police funding settlement when it is debated in Parliament next month.
Alex said:
“People in Teesside will have real concerns about the loss of 155 officers here in the Cleveland Police Service. The deepest cuts to policing budgets will hit this year and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary estimate the loss of 16,000 officers through this Parliament.
“The Home Secretary’s 20 per cent cuts go much further than the 12 per cent recommended by the independent inspectorate and supported by Labour.
“David Cameron and Theresa May are letting down communities and turning their backs on the police. They should be battling to cut crime, but they are just cutting the police instead.
“People in Teesside value the work that local police officers do in our community and I will be voting against the Government’s police cuts next month.”