Conservatives breaking police officer promise for Staffordshire

Conservatives breaking police officer promise for Staffordshire

The Conservative Government is failing to deliver the promised 300 more police officers for Staffordshire.

Analysis of Home Office statistics by the Liberal Democrats has shown that Staffordshire's officer numbers rose by only 93 in the last year.

A total of 165 extra officers have been recruited by Staffordshire Police under the Government's campaign that started in September 2019.

Staffordshire Police has so far recruited just 6 more officers per month under the scheme. To meet the Conservatives' own target of 300 by March 2023, that rate would have to increase to 9 per month over the next 15 months.

Staffordshire's Liberal Democrats have slammed the government for failing to keep their promise to communities, adding that there needs to be a return to full and proper community policing.

Responding to the figures, Alec Sandiford, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary spokesperson for Stone, said:

"People in Staffordshire are being let down and taken for granted by this Conservative Government. With so many local crimes going unsolved, we desperately need more police on our streets and in our communities.

"Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and known personally to local people."

"The Conservatives' pledge to boost police officer numbers looks set to become yet another of their broken promises. They are letting down victims of crime and our communities right across our area."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The 'Police officer uplift, quarterly update to December 2021', published today by the Home Office, is available here.