by Amanda Ramsay
After four years of this dreadful Tory and Lib Dem Coalition, savage austerity cuts have seen hundreds of frontline staff being laid off across police forces, leaving the firm impression of a government hell bent on small state governance at any cost to society and our safety.
Appearing to value the privatisation of the police, probation and even prison service over keeping law and order, statistics are often hard to believe however, due to their notorious unreliability; yet inside sources from with the police report a toxic mix of the lowest number of police officers per capita, with the second highest crime rate in Europe.
In about 1970, crimes reported hit one million and kept rising. At the time this was seen as staggeringly high. By 2005 it reached 5,800,000. In 2006 it reached 6,200,000.
Meanwhile a government minister said recently that crime was going down – that it had been going down year by year for 14 years!
On top of the rising crime is the number of offences not even being recorded by police – credit card fraud for example is not being recorded. Rape is known to be under-reported.
The Home Office was not forthcoming on official statistics re reported crime and police numbers, despite recent written requests in recent years by a researcher colleague of mine, nor have they sent any replies or acknowledgements even. What are they trying to hide?
Additionally, the criminal justice system does not appear to be ‘joined up.’ Courts are thought to not be taking ‘decisive or constructive action’ in dealing with persistent offenders, according to one former police officer.
The UK has the second highest crime rate in Europe. In terms of recorded crimes of violence, the UK wins top place in Europe as having the worst record. Much of this is drink related. Domestic violence appears to also be on the rise, as well as rape, child abuse and human trafficking.
Hampshire police have reportedly had their budget cut by £52 million per annum. They have had to close 14 police stations. Only very large stations are open to the public at night – such as Southampton Central.
Apparently one chief inspector has been given the job of travelling around Hampshire and closing police buildings. Presumably this is driven by a government with typical Tory zeal to sell anything that is not nailed to the floor, for short term gains.
Hampshire plans to reduce the number of officers by 400 next year in order to keep inside their budget.
One senior police source told me: “Given the large amount of crime in the UK and the small number of officers to deal with it results in what we call ‘Fire Brigade Policing.’ An incident occurs, police dash to the scene and deal with it and then return to patrol or station.”
Someone else in the force told me that, as a rule, CID (Criminal Investigation Department) officers working at police stations have just about one hour to investigate a crime. Given that CID officers deal with crimes that are more serious and usually therefore involve lengthy enquiries, the mind boggles as to what less serious demeanors attract.
When the police service was founded, the idea was that officers patrolled to prevent crime. This is obviously not happening now.
I know there are bad people everywhere and no magic wand to make a magical land of crime-free nirvana, however having been a victim of crime many times and again last week, when my car back windscreen was smashed in one night, just parked on my street, I speak from personal experience.
I needed to call 101 to report this incident, requiring a crime number for insurance purposes, but it was impossible to get through.
On mentioning this to the BBC and to the local PCC In Avon and Somerset, where I currently live, I was invited to give written details of what happened, or should I say, didn’t happen.
This morning, I was invited onto BBC Radio Bristol to raise this directly with the local Police and Crime Commissioner, who was in for a radio phone in, the hot seat.
You can hear that intervention here, about 20-30 minutes in to the 9am John Darvell Show, BBC Radio Bristol.
Forces are becoming increasingly over stretched and under staffed because of enormous budgetary cuts, which have meant huge losses in front line officers, let alone patrolling beat officers – with hundreds more to go the coming year – in many police forces.
Add into this equation a failing 101 telephone reporting system (non-emergency) has left people including myself twice stranded. Unable to get through on the line, my democratic right to police and victim support is nowhere to be seen.
It is obvious the current government cares little about the safety or well-being of the public, with so many obstacles now in being able to report crimes, with reporting face to face with an officer in an actual police station largely relegated to the history books; with stations being forced to close, up and down the country – again due to government cuts.
My jaw dropped to the floor last week, to read reports here and here on the BBC – we are being urged to channel our inner Batwoman or Superman to become super-hero crime fighters or model ourselves as Miss Marples to become D.I.Y detectives. Big Society fans will be delighted.
Amanda Ramsay is a PhD candidate at the University of Bristol and Labour campaigner
Tags: Amanda Ramsay, crime rates, Hampshire police, policing, Tory cuts
Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t Labour committed to continuing the Tory UK budgets for at least 2 years should they take Office in 2015, along with any cuts in the pipeline? So are you saying that you support Labour or oppose them?
Certainly in Wales the councils have been told by Cardiff that next year their budgets will be cut by nearly 5% (on top of the cuts for the last three years), and more cuts for the following 2 years.
Forces are becoming increasingly over stretched and under staffed
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sir-cliff-richards-home-searched-4049180 shows eight officers searching Cliff Richards’ house.
Lots of resources for worthy causes.
Crime rates have falln for two decades now.
Perhaps we don’t need as many police?
Crime rates have falln for two decades now.
Perhaps we don’t need as many police?
That is impissble to quantify. The way the figures are compiled and reported has changed far too many times. If you left who the statistics are gained and presented alone for two decades then you could compare, but it’s impossible to compare figures gained under different systems.
BenM, if crime or real crime that isnt measured by crime rates, goes up, then will we need more police, also the fall in crime 20 years ago marked when there were more police, how much in reported crime happens due to no police around to spot it
The article is pure tosh from an obvious “campaigner”.
Most of the content is apocryphal, so here’s a real conversation for you. A friend of mine is the Police Federation Rep (full time union paid a police officer by the police ie taxpayer). They are of course totally ethical /SARC.
Anyway, I asked him about these so called savage cuts and what impact they would have. Well the answer I got was not what I expected and runs totally contrary to the statements here.
He explained that under the Labour government the paperwork burden on officers increased massively, so their answer was to put forward a business case and ask for a support person to be recruited to do the necessary. A “business case” aparently was “I cant be bothered get someone else”. So across several years the police total staffing levels grew. Now the goverment has put in place reforms to what labour introduced and hopefully the burden on officers is decreasing, so the need for all of these support staff is not there.
So I asked how he felt about all these job losses and again his response was not expected. He said they had recruited many people who were a waste of resources and getting rid of the “dead wood” is exactly what should happen.
Doesn’t exactly chime with the “campaigner” narrative.
“After four years of this dreadful Tory and Lib Dem Coalition, savage austerity cuts have seen hundreds of frontline staff being laid off across police forces, leaving the firm impression of a government hell bent on small state governance at any cost to society and our safety.
Appearing to value the privatisation of the police, probation and even prison service over keeping law and order……..”
This is saying that the government are not just wrong but are wilfully cruel. And as Tafia rightly points out:
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t Labour committed to continuing the Tory UK budgets for at least 2 years should they take Office in 2015, along with any cuts in the pipeline? So are you saying that you support Labour or oppose them?”
Now, if you are Labour in Scotland holding the balance between yes and no and you read this on a Labour site which way might you be tempted to vote? With the depressing negativity of the Labour led better together campaign saying the cuts are evil but promising to continue them or the optimistic YES campaign promising jam tomorrow with a fairer, more equal society.
I don’t know where Ex labour, got the information from the Fed rep from, he Tories did say stop and account forms were to be upto Chief constables,/The Commissioner if they were needed,Stop and Account fm aren’t stop and search,they’re voluntary forms hat police can offer the public to accept if a PC talks to someone asking why they’re in a certain place, the public can refuse and leave where Stop and search the PC has to say before I’m detaining you for a purpose of a search,,
Labour and the Tories in the last year have put target so clear up rates,which was scrapped for 3 years in2010. As such the police feel the pressure to process people that otherwise would be given a verbal warning, A fight outside a pub in 2010 would see a anti social behaviour caution, Now the police are finding about Scouts or tourists with fisher and knives at museums, and instead of taking them and a verbal wring re now cautioning them and releasing them on permanent Bail,
Regarding other paper work falling, not only does fewer police mean they’re spotting less crime,it also means less police to pass on observations of areas which have been spotted as possible areas to monitor ,to see if suspected crime is taking place,like drug dealing,prostituion, the drop in paper work where the government hve been Les s pro active also has seen fewer stop and searches, nd then people can walk around with prohibited articles and no one knows , fewer fines and street bailing for non endi table offences including theft under £200 from shops.
@Tafia
“If you left who the statistics are gained and presented alone for two decades then you could compare”
Luckily we have a set of statistics whose methodology is basically unchanged for over two decades:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_371127.pdf
See page 26.
BenM, as John Reid (and my cousin, and half a dozen of my mates) will gladly tell you the way the statistics are compiled has been changed over and over and over again. You can actually be the victim of a crime and the way it’s compiled the crime never even took place. Even down to what constitutes ‘solved’has been changed several times.
Same as the NHS (where – amongst other managerial thongs, my sister actually gives advice to neighbouring trusts on how to manipulate waiting list figures, and has been doing that for nearly a decade)
Cuts to policing, I do wonder, saw so many police at 6:30pm on a Monday night on Brixton last week, more than I would see in Liverpool City centre on a Saturday night.
@ John Reid
My information came from a Fed Rep who still holds the rank of Detective Inspector, although is a full time rep.
Obviously you must know more than he does since you discount his comments.Are you in the police service ?
The point was that a “savage cuts” narrative is more Labour bollox.
NHS waiting times can be cut by looking through waiting lists finding operations that take half an hour,and doing 4 of them on one day,and putting operations that talks all day,on the back burner,
Regarding crime if there’s crimes that are put down as not being inditable ,or dismissed with a caution,and aren’t recorded as serious, then the police have been pressurised to record them as less serious, ABH down to common assault, a padlock kicked off the back door to a house is criminal damage rather than attempted burglary, a woman has her handbag next too her at a bus stop just as a thief is about to take it she snatches it back the thief waves his fist threatening her,it’s recorded as attempted assault and theft ,rather than robbery,the defenition of robbery being the threat of force is used to obtain goods ,on those being threatened, it’s being going on for 40 years same as teacher assistants teaching kids, to cut class sizes,
Ex labour maybe, it’s based on county forces, I can only comment on the Met.