Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen) (Lab/Co-op):...The funding cuts to
West Yorkshire police would be worse were it not for the action of
the Labour police and crime commissioner, Mark Burns-Williamson,
who raised the police funding element of council tax to stem the
loss of officers and restart recruitment in the face of cuts to the
central grant. I am not a spokesperson for the police, and, let us
be honest, many people in my constituency are frustrated with
police services, but it is important...Request free trial
(Batley and Spen)
(Lab/Co-op):...The funding cuts to West Yorkshire police
would be worse were it not for the action of the Labour police and
crime commissioner, , who raised the police
funding element of council tax to stem the loss of officers and
restart recruitment in the face of cuts to the central grant. I am
not a spokesperson for the police, and, let us be honest, many
people in my constituency are frustrated with police services, but
it is important to acknowledge the context of what they have faced
in recent years, because it has an impact on their ability to
respond to and deter crime....
(St Ives) (Con):...I
meet my police a lot and spend a lot of time with them. It annoys
my police and crime commissioner that I have such a close
relationship with them. They tell me not just that there is a lack
of cash—there certainly is—and that they have lost lots of police
officers, although that is certainly the case, but that crime has
changed dramatically in the period we are talking about. They have
to spend a huge amount of resources on counter-terrorism, even in
west Cornwall and the far south-west. Hon. Members might think that
it is not an issue there, but people come in through our ports and
harbours, and they need to be followed, arrested and dealt
with...
...There is no doubt that in towns in Cornwall, there has been a
rise in crime—sometimes violent crime, but certainly drug-related
crime. I have talked about the change in the way that things are
happening, and certainly drugs are moving around differently. The
Government and the police and crime commissioner have
made resources available, and have concentrated them in areas
such as Penzance and elsewhere in Cornwall where people just did
not feel safe. Things were going on in broad daylight that would
not have gone on in the past. I completely accept that as we reduce
numbers and the visibility of the police, other things are allowed
to happen, which much be addressed....
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the
Home Department (Victoria Atkins):...In summary, we very
much recognise the impact of crime on not just big cities, but
market towns, urban towns, if I am allowed to use that phrase, and
villages. That is precisely why, as well as putting in place the
suite of measures that we have touched on in this important debate,
we have secured an extra £1 billion of funding for the police. That
is already enabling Police
and Crime Commissioners, including in West Yorkshire,
to increase the recruitment of police officers...
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