Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said it is ‘unforgivable’ that a probe by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) found 2,611 fewer neighbourhood officers than were claimed a year ago
Shameless Tories fudged police officer numbers to hide the scale of neighbourhood cuts, bombshell data suggests.
A damning dossier will show there were 2,611 fewer neighbourhood officers and PCSOs in England and Wales than last year’s official figures showed. Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said it was “unforgivable” that a fall in neighbourhood officers was not revealed to the public.
A probe by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has revised the figures downward after years of suspicion they had been artificially inflated. Dame Diana said the drop in neighbourhood officers led to crimes like shoplifting and muggings soaring.
Of 43 forces, 29 said their published neighbourhood officer and PCSO numbers were too high. Dame Diana told The Mirror: “These revised figures from police forces reveal the true scale of Tory cuts to neighbourhood policing in our communities.
“For years the previous Government pretended that neighbourhood policing was being protected with fudged figures that didn’t reflect the reality on the ground. That is unforgivable.
“These figures are proof of what the public have already seen and felt on their streets over the last decade – an erosion in neighbourhood policing with crimes like shoplifting and street theft soaring as a result. The number of PCSOs has halved since 2010 and the proportion of public who say they never see a bobby on the beat has doubled over the same period.
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“That is the Tories’ shameful legacy on law and order and it is our communities who have paid the price.” It is believed many forces included student officers and fast-responders in their figures, leading to them being vastly inflated.
Revised data showed there were 17,023 neighbourhood police in March last year – even though official data claimed there were 19,634. The latest figures show 10,664 of these were officers – a whopping 21% fewer than claimed.
West Midlands Police had 649 fewer neighbourhood officers than previously claimed, the Home Affairs Select Committee has been told. Gloucestershire Constabulary downgraded its neighbourhood officer figure by 66%, while Suffolk did so by 52%.
The Government says a “blurring of the lines” over duties meant the true picture was not revealed to the public. A source said: “The government is clear that the public – who have seen and felt the reduction in neighbourhood officers and PCSOs on their streets in recent years – deserve far better than this.”
The NPCC probe was ordered by the Home Office after Labour came to power. Chief Constable Rachel Bacon, NPCC Local Policing Coordination Committee Chair said: “The NPCCs recent data validation exercise has been vital to ensuring accuracy in previously recorded neighbourhood policing data.
“Past errors in recording have been addressed and forces are confident that their systems and processes are ready to track this government’s ambitions in neighbourhood policing.”
Labour has vowed to bolster neighbourhood teams by 13,000 in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour and make communities feel safer. The Home Office has issued updated guidance to forces to make sure staff are not wrongly classed as neighbourhood police.
The Mirror has contacted Tory HQ for comment.
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