Conservatives breaking police officer promise for Derbyshire

The Conservative Government is failing to deliver the promised 283 more police officers for Derbyshire.

Derbyshire's Liberal Democrats have slammed the government for failing to keep their promise to communities, adding that there needs to be a return to full and proper community policing.

Walton Councillor Tom Snowdon said "We were out door knocking and talking to local residents last weekend and policing issues were brought up by several people. We need more Officers available to respond to every day crime, but the Government are not hitting the numbers they promised at the last election".

Despite Government promises to increase local police numbers in Derbyshire by 283 they have only so far recruited just 4 more officers per month under the scheme. To meet the Conservatives' own target of 283 by March 2023, that rate would have to increase to 12 per month over the next 15 months.

Analysis of Home Office statistics by the Liberal Democrats has shown that Derbyshire's officer numbers rose by only 40 in the last year. A total of 107 extra officers have been recruited by Derbyshire Police under the Government's campaign that started in September 2019.

Responding to the figures, Tom said "People in Derbyshire are being let down and taken for granted by this Conservative Government. With so many local crimes going unsolved, we desperately need more police on our streets and in our communities.

Cllr Nick Redihough added "The Conservatives' pledge to boost police officer numbers looks set to become yet another of their broken promises. They are letting down victims of crime and our communities, right across our area."

Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and known personally to local people."

The 'Police officer uplift, quarterly update to December 2021', published today by the Home Office, is available here.