“A lack of investment into policing is causing rise in crime”

THERE is a direct correlation between a rise in crime and a cut in the number of officers on the beat, says South Yorkshire Police Federation.

New Office for National Statistics figures show there’s been a rise in public disorder (up 16%) fraud (17%) knife crime (8%) and robbery (11%) on last year in England and Wales.

And getting boots on the ground as part of wider investment in the force is a key part of the solution according to South Yorkshire Police Federation Chairman Steve Kent.

He hopes new PM Boris Johnson will stand by his vow to get more officers on the beat.

“These crime figures are a direct result of the fact that there’s been such a lack on investment in frontline policing and policing across the board,” he said.

“The only way this is going to get reversed is long-term reinvestment into policing. It’s quite simple.”

The green shoots of recovery will take time to emerge however as new officers need to get up to speed.

“I don’t think we’re going to start seeing positive results until the new officers coming in are embedded,” Steve said.

“It needs to be a bit of a five-year plan, rather than a knee-jerk reaction to reverse these increases in crime stats. But it must be done by reinvestment, and that’s the only way we’re going to see that done. There also needs to be reinvestment in other aspects of social services because it’s all linked into the way that finances have been stripped from public services across the board.

“From a policing point of view, you need to just see those numbers coming back and investment in infrastructure. Then hopefully these crime numbers will be reversed.”