Oral Answers to Questions

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Monday 28th February 2022 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

1. What recent assessment she has made of the importance of police community support officers in tackling neighbourhood crime.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Priti Patel)]

The whole House will be united in horror and revulsion at Putin’s war on Ukraine. I will update the House on the action that we are taking to help British nationals and Ukrainians and to hold Russia and Putin’s Government to account later in Question Time. For now, I want to reiterate the Government’s unequivocal support for the people of Ukraine, who are being truly heroic.

[Daniel Zeichner]

I echo the Home Secretary’s comments and am sure that we will extend a generous and gracious invitation to those fleeing from Ukraine.

In the year to September 2021, 1.7 million cases of antisocial behaviour were reported to the police. In Cambridge, I have more and more people coming to me with problems. We used to have police community support officers, who were a welcoming, reassuring, uniformed presence on our streets. Where are they now?

[Priti Patel]

Strong local policing is absolutely in the DNA of neighbourhood policing. The hon. Gentleman will be well aware that this Government are not only funding but backing the police, with almost £15.9 billion in this financial year, and increasing police numbers to 20,000. He will also know that his local police recruitment numbers have gone up and that his local force has already recruited 138 police officers.