WARRINGTON North MP Helen Jones is calling on the Government to rethink its approach to policing after newly released figures showed the number of police officers patrolling the streets in Warrington and Cheshire have fallen to the lowest for a decade, with the loss of 102 officers since March 2010.
The figures show there are now 8,000 fewer officers on the streets across England and Wales, at a time when 
personal crime, which includes theft and violence, has gone up by a startling 11 per cent — the biggest increase in a decade.
Ms Jones (right) is calling for the Government to re-open the police funding settlement when it is debated in Parliament next month.
She said:
“People in Warrington will have real concerns about the loss of 102 officers from the Cheshire Constabulary. The deepest cuts to policing budgets will hit this year and the independent Inspectorate of Constabulary estimate the loss of 16,000 officers through this Parliament.
“People in Warrington value the work that local police officers do in our community and I will be voting against the Government’s police cuts next month.
“The scale of government cuts has led to the biggest fall in national police numbers in decades at the same time as we are seeing the biggest increase in personal crime.
“David Cameron and Theresa May are letting down communities and turning their backs on the police. They should be battling to cut crime, but they are just cutting the police instead.
“The Home Secretary’s 20 per cent cuts go much further than the 12 per cent recommended by the independent inspectorate and supported by Labour. A 12 per cent cut would not impact the frontline whilst delivering savings.
“The Prime Minister’s decision to cut policing too far and too fast when many crimes are increasing is putting communities at risk.
“When Labour left office there were record numbers of police on the street, over 16,500 more than in 1997 in addition to over 16,000 new PCSOs.
“Helped by the record number of police officers, crime fell by 43 per cent under Labour and the chance of being a victim of crime was at the lowest since records began.”
MP calls for re-think on police
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
