Serious crime is on the rise again after years of steady falls in offending, and UNISON believes government cutbacks to policing in the South East are to blame.
Keen to encourage people to vote in the police and crime commissioner elections on 5th May, UNISON is launching a campaign to provide the public with the facts about police cuts and the rise is serious crime.
Recent official figures show that in the South East sex offences rose by nearly a half (49%), and violent crime by a third (33%) between 2014 and 2015.
UNISON is warning that this dramatic rise in crime follows 5 years of government cuts to police forces in England and Wales. National Audit Office figures show that central funding has reduced by more than £2bn in real terms between 2010 and 2016.
According to Home Office figures, over 4,700 policing jobs were lost in the South East between 2010 and 2015, as a result of government cuts. These include a reduction of over 1 in 10 (15%) police community support officers (PCSOs), a 19% cut to police staff jobs, and a 12% reduction in the number of police officers.
UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said:
“Police staff have been cut year on year. The government keeps saying that this will have no impact on crime but it’s illogical to claim that reducing the number of PCSOs, police staff or police officers won’t make any difference to offending rates.
“We need to protect policing to keep local communities safe. Police and crime commissioners are hugely influential in shaping the future of policing. That’s why it’s so important that people turn out and vote this May”.
Article continues below this advertisement
