Extract from Home Office questions: Police Officer Numbers - Feb 8
Tuesday, 9 February 2021 07:49
Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con): Under the leadership of our
chief constable Lee Freeman, Humberside Police has made good
progress from the position it was in a few years ago, and we have
benefited from increased officer numbers. If we are to maintain
that progress and meet the expectations of my constituents, we must
continue to increase force numbers. Can my hon. Friend give an
assurance that we will be able to further increase the number of
officers in Humberside? The Minister for...Request free trial
(Cleethorpes) (Con): Under the leadership
of our chief constable Lee Freeman, Humberside Police has made good
progress from the position it was in a few years ago, and we have
benefited from increased officer numbers. If we are to maintain
that progress and meet the expectations of my constituents, we must
continue to increase force numbers. Can my hon. Friend give an
assurance that we will be able to further increase the number of
officers in Humberside?
The Minister for Crime and Policing ():
In my nearly six years in the House, I have watched with
admiration as my hon. Friend, terrier-like, holds the Government to
their commitments; he is doing exactly the same today, and I do not
blame him for it. He is quite right that we have seen a big
increase in police officer numbers, but there is much more to come.
We have done 6,620, which means that there are 13,000-odd yet to
go. The Government’s commitment to the number of 20,000 is about as
solid as it gets. It is the same as if the ravens were to leave the
tower: if we fail to fulfil this promise, there will be fundamental
problems and consequences for Government, not least, I am sure,
from my hon. Friend.
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