‘Worrying gaps’ in UK’s ability to respond after police budget cuts, claims shadow home secretary Andy Burnham. Continue reading Lack of Armed Police ‘Leaves UK Regions Open To Terrorist Attack’
Tag Archives: budget cuts
Former Scotland Yard Chief: Police Cuts Will Make An Isis Attack In UK Easier
The government’s planned large budget cuts to the police in the UK will make it easier for Islamic State to stage a terrorist attack, Britain’s former head of counter-terrorism has warned.
Former Scotland Yard chief Robert Quick told the Guardian that the supply of intelligence from communities that identifies suspects and stops violent extremists inflicting carnage also risks being choked off.
“It will make Britain more vulnerable to terrorism. It will damage the police’s ability to counter terrorism if neighbourhood policing is cut. It will lead to a loss of intelligence, a loss of confidence and trust,” Quick said.
As Scotland Yard’s Assistant Commissioner, Quick was head of counter-terrorism for the UK from 2008 to 2009.
His comments came as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for cuts to the police budget to be limited to 5%, with police chiefs braced for the Conservatives to inflict cuts of at least 25%.
Since the Paris atrocities police chiefs have intensified their lobbying over the planned cuts, arguing that they would lead to a large loss of community officers, and the intelligence they generate from the public.
Read more in The Guardian.
Bobbies On the Beat or Scarecrows On the Street? How Cuts Are Changing Policing
On a dark and stormy night in the Essex coastal town of Frinton-on-Sea, someone, or something, is stirring in a beach hut. At least, that’s what Stephen Beardsley thinks, and, as the man who has been charged by hundreds of Frintonians to keep them safe in the absence of a permanent local police presence, he is duty-bound to investigate.
Continue reading Bobbies On the Beat or Scarecrows On the Street? How Cuts Are Changing Policing
Remembrance Day Parades: Dilemmas For Councils and Chief Constables
Labour shadow home secretary Andy Burnham has called on Theresa May to ensure there are enough police officers to organise Remembrance Day parades as cuts to forces are being scaled down.
Continue reading Remembrance Day Parades: Dilemmas For Councils and Chief Constables
Illinois’ Largest Police Training Facility Could Shut Down Due To Budget Crisis
Chicago (WLS) — In order for police to do their job well on the street, officers must log many hours in a classroom. But state’s budget crisis is putting some of that vital training at risk.
Continue reading Illinois’ Largest Police Training Facility Could Shut Down Due To Budget Crisis
Petition To UK Government and Parliament To Stop the Scathing Cuts To Police Budget
In the petition addressed to government and parliament of United Kingdom, Michael Kenworthy wrote:
PCSO`s soon to be gone, few if any traffic cops left, different figures showing different crime stats, I would tend to side with criminal acts are growing. I feel a riot like in 2011 Police would no longer be able to cope.
Michael is right and the petition has already attracted over 7000 signatures. At 10,000, the government will respond to this petition. Please sign and share it if you care about the future of policing in the United Kingdom.
Share the link: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/109383
Rural Towns and Villages Pay the Price of Police Cuts
It’s no surprise that in the recent National Rural Crime Survey nearly two-thirds of respondents thought that the police weren’t doing a good job and felt less safe as a result. Government soundbites say the police “must do more with less”. The “less” refers to less funding, but the truth is it actually means fewer police officers. More than 12,000 front-line officers in fact, with at least another 15,000 to go over the next two years. That’s on top of 35,000 departing civilian staff, whose work needs to be covered by officers.
The knock-on effect is that police have to put much smaller numbers of officers where the demand is greatest, just to cope with crime and disorder in the cities, towns and sprawling estates. The glaring consequence of this, of course, is that it makes rural areas ripe for the picking.
Read the rest of Mike Pannett’s article in Yorkshire Post.
Mike Pannett is a former North Yorkshire police officer turned best-selling author on rural life and policing. His new book Crime Squad is due to be released later this year.
Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
Wiltshire Police Vow To Probe Burglaries Despite Budget Cuts
Wiltshire Police have said that they will still respond in person to burglaries, despite recent budget cuts.
Earlier this week, the head of the new National Police Chiefs’ Council said people should not expect an officer to necessarily turn up at burglaries.
Sara Thornton said it “could be” if an iPad was stolen from a residential property, then an officer would not come to investigate.
She said due to the changing nature of crime – with sexual offences and concern over terrorism on the increase, along with austerity cuts – police forces will have to relook at their priorities.
But T/Superintendent and Head of Crime Standards and Justice Adrian Burt says residents in Wiltshire can still expect an officer to turn up.
He said: “Preventing crime and protecting the public will always be our purpose and we recognise the impact a burglary can have on victims and their families.”
Read more in This Is Wiltshire.
Source: www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk
Budget cuts won’t prevent Wiltshire Police from responding to burglary incidents.
West Midlands Police Announce Massive Job Losses
Police Community Support Officers from across the West Midlands face sweeping cuts in the latest cash crisis facing West Midlands Police.
They have been summoned to a meeting to learn their fate as union bosses warn it will be “the end of neighbourhood policing” in the region.
Control room and front office staff – along with PCSOs the first point of contact with the public – also face cuts, the Birmingham Mail understands.
The news comes as up to 2,500 police and support staff jobs are at risk with West Midlands Police aiming to save £130 million over the next five years.
They are part of a massive package of cuts hitting almost 2,500 bobbies and support staff.
Read more in Birmingham Mail.
Source: www.birminghammail.co.uk
Sara Thornton: England and Wales Police May No Longer Attend Burglaries
The public should not expect to see a police officer after crimes such as burglary, the head of the new National Police Chiefs’ Council has said.
Sara Thornton told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire budget cuts and the changing nature of criminality meant police in England and Wales had to prioritise.
She said it “could be” that if an iPad was stolen from a home an officer would not come round to investigate.
There had to be a “conversation with the public” over priorities, she added.
Ms Thornton has said that forces need radical reform if they are to survive budget cuts.
She said police budgets had been cut “significantly” – by 25% over four years – and they were expected to be cut further.
“Over 10 years we will have lost about 70,000 posts and I don’t think it’s possible to carry on doing what we’ve always done, as we will just fail the public but also cause unacceptable stress among our officers and staff,” she said.
Read more on BBC News.
Source: www.bbc.com
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