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‘Give us our Bobbies back’: Clive Grunshaw meets with MPs to call for 750 more cops

Posted on - 10th September, 2019 - 7:00am | Author - | Posted in - Crime, Preston News
Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw has visited Westminster to call for 750 new officers

Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw has met with Lancashire MPs to call for more officers for the cash-strapped constabulary.

Since 2010, Lancashire Constabulary has lost 750 officers and has been subjected to savage funding cuts which have been propped up by council tax payers.

As a result of more than nine years of austerity, Lancashire Constabulary has had to make savings of £84m with a further £18m to be found by 2023.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised an extra 20,000 officers across the country, but Mr Grunshaw says there is no hint of how the new recruits will be allocated.

Read more: Crime news from Blog Preston

On Monday September 9 the Police and Crime Commissioner travelled to Parliament to call for an extra 750 officers for the county to bring numbers back to 2010 levels.

He said: “I am in Westminster today to update MPs on my ongoing concerns around police funding and I am calling on Boris Johnson to give Lancashire its Bobbies back.

“Despite the Prime Minister promising to recruit an extra 20,000 officers across the country, crucially he has yet to provide any details on the allocations of the recruitment funding. A fair proportion of these officers must be given to Lancashire and put back where they are needed.

“Lancashire has been one of the hardest hit by austerity and I’m calling on the Prime Minister to match Lancashire’s ambition to recruit the 750 police officers lost since 2010.

“Whilst I welcome a pledge of £750 million to begin the process of recruiting, this commitment only extends to 6,000 officers until March 2021. We need proper assurances about how policing will be funded in the long term and one year gifts will not suffice.

“Police funding cannot keep coming at the expense of hard working Lancashire council tax payers. Permanent funding needs to come from government grant increases and not from further council tax increases.

“Together with MPs, I am standing up for Lancashire to ensure we receive a fair funding settlement which is sustainable and reflects the unique circumstances that Lancashire faces as a police service.”

What do you think of Mr Grunshaw’s plans? Leave your comments below.

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