The police are facing unprecedented demand and communities are
paying the price, the Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester has said
as new crime figures are released.
Deputy Mayor Bev Hughes was speaking out as Home Office
statistics reveal that the rising tide of crime continues to show
no signs of turning.
Latest figures show a 17 per cent increase in recorded crime
across the city-region, in the twelve months ending June 2018.
Deputy Mayor Bev Hughes said: “We have seen crime rise and rise
since 2010, and this is no surprise given the savage cuts that
have been imposed on police and across our public services. Last
month, the Prime Minister told us that austerity is over. If
that’s the case the Government should invest now in policing and
public services before it’s too late to undo the damage of
austerity.
“These figures show that crime is continuing to rise, with
violent and sexual offences showing the highest increases. This
is a time when demand on police officers is at an all-time high
as they deal with ever more serious cases with a level of
complexity we could not have predicted even a few years ago.
“This increase in demand has a dreadful consequence for our
communities. For, whilst I expect the police to fully investigate
the most serious of crimes, years of central Government cuts mean
the police simply cannot investigate every crime. This is a
difficult conversation to have with the public and I wish this
wasn’t the case, which is why we need Ministers to stop paying
lip service and fairly fund our police.”
The statistics come after it was revealed earlier this week that
reports of hate crime in Greater Manchester have gone up by 43
per cent over the last 12 months.
Deputy Mayor Bev Hughes added: “Hatred and prejudice have no
place in Greater Manchester and we have done a lot of work to
raise awareness and support victims. As a result Greater
Manchester has one of the highest reporting rates of hate crime
in the country. But we know more can be done to ensure every
victim has the confidence to speak out, and the Government’s
plans to bolster the national approach to tackling hate crime is
long overdue.”
This week the Deputy Mayor has stood united with other Police and
Crime Commissioners across the country to say #No2Hate, as part
of National Hate Crime Awareness Week.
Recorded crime figures for the 12 months ending June 2018:
Total recorded crime – 343,089 – 17% increase
Violence against a person - 96,642 – 26% increase
Sexual offences – 9,714 – 27% increase
Burglary - 31,260 – 3% decrease
Robbery – 7,270 – 35% increase
Theft offences - 122,969 – 2% increase
Vehicle crime - 31,508 – 14% increase
Shoplifting - 17,284 – 6% decrease
Theft from person - 6,818 – 0% increase
