Number of South Yorkshire Police officers falls again

THERE were 2,953 police officers in South Yorkshire in 2010. There are now 2,472. That’s 481 fewer.

The numbers – released by the Home Office – show in 2010, there were 143,734 police officers in England and Wales. There are now 121,929. That’s 21,805 fewer.

This information came out on the same day as it was revealed that Police Recorded Crime in England and Wales is up 14%.

Public order offences are up 44%. Violent Crime is up 20%. Theft is up 11%. Sex offences are up 23%. Robbery is up 29%. And Domestic burglary is up 32%.

Shadow Policing Minister Louise Haigh said: “These shocking figures reveal that the Tories have lost control in the fight against crime. The truth is, the public are now being forced to pay the price for the reckless risk the Tories took with public safety when they slashed 20,000 officers.”

Andy Fittes, Police Federation of England and Wales General Secretary, said: “Frontline officers are under increasing pressure and dealing with larger caseloads than ever before. This worrying rise in crime will only add to this pressure.

“The reality is there are around 21,000 fewer officers than there were in 2010 and they are having to deal with an ever-increasing number of crimes. This is on top of the numerous other roles they undertake as they serve the public.

“Countering terrorists who seek to attack our way of life; managing sex offenders in the community; preventing child sexual exploitation; looking for missing persons; dealing with people with mental health problems; policing football matches; policing pubs and clubs; house to house inquiries and taking statements are just some of the key areas of police work not covered in these statistics.”

He said the Government “need to accept the simple reality that the result of cutting police officers and funding is a rise in crime.”

And concluded: “They have to acknowledge this and act now to remedy it.”