The Petition of residents of Scunthorpe,
Declares that the petitioners are opposed to plans to cut £30 million from Humberside Police’s budget over the next four years; declares that the Petitioners reject the Government’s claim that these budget cuts will not have an effect on the quality of policing provided; and further declares that the Petitioners believe these cuts will mean the loss of 331 jobs, on top of the 780 staff who were already offered voluntary redundancy last year.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to reverse its decision to cut £30 million from the Humberside Police budget and reconsider the proposed funding allowance for Humberside Police.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Nic Dakin, Official Report, 6 February 2012; Vol. 540, c. 133.]
[P001004]
Observations from the Secretary of State for the Home Department:
The Government support the work of the Police, both in Humberside and across England and Wales as a whole.
The reductions in funding for the police are challenging but manageable. This Government inherited the largest peacetime deficit in Britain’s history, and have had no option but to take urgent action. As a service spending £14 billion per year, the police cannot be exempt from the requirement to save public money.
However, Government funding is not the only source of income for the police. About a quarter comes from the police precept (element of council tax). The level of police precept is set by Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and the PCC for Humberside has taken the decision to freeze police precept for 2013-14.
The effectiveness of a police force depends not on overall numbers but on how well it deploys its resources. Recorded crime has fallen under this Government by more than 10%, while total police officer numbers reduced over the same period. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary have made it clear that there is no simple link between officer numbers and crime levels, between numbers and the visibility of the police in the community, or between numbers and the quality of service provided.
The Government note, as of June 2012, that crime in Humberside was down by 12%, which underlines that the force has been able to manage funding reductions whilst continuing to significantly reduce crime.