Tuesday 21 April 2015
Election Issue 3: Law Enforcement
Despite cuts
in the budgets of local police forces and prosecution services, crime has
steadily fallen – locally and across the country. Between 2010 and 2014, police recorded crime fell by 14% in England and
Wales. In Surrey, despite a 7% cut in our police budget, crime fell by 25% - and
by 28% locally here in Elmbridge. County-wide, the biggest falls have been in
robbery, criminal damage, motoring offences, and public order offences.
Interestingly,
the overall volume of convictions has also fallen in England and Wales, and in
Surrey. True, there are some important exceptions. The volume of cases brought
against violent and sexual offenders is up across the county (compared to a 26%
fall in prosecutions for vehicle offences). Equally, the number of reported
drug offences rose by 37% in Surrey, but fell 16% across the country.
So, what
conclusions can be drawn from this data? First, there is no hydraulic
relationship between the crude amount of policing budgets and the level of
crime. This reinforces what we know about both the effectiveness of policing,
and the public’s role. Burglar alarms, personal security and other IT has been
a major factor in cutting crime – as well as the dedication of frontline
officers.
Second, given
the cost of bringing cases to court, hard-pressed taxpayers’ money needs to be
focused and prioritised. I suspect many people would endorse the prosecutorial
focus on violent and sexual crime. Equally, signage, speed controls and other
preventative measures have helped reduced motoring offences – while less cases
are going to court.
Third, there
is no reason why crime cannot continue to fall. Police money and time can be
further saved by increasing co-operation between the different emergency
services, and between local police forces. For example, Surrey recently won £735,000
from the police innovation fund, to develop a shared IT platform with fire and
rescue. Then there is all the centrally imposed bureaucracy and red-tape –
there’s still scope for further efficiencies to be found here too.
A combination of smart policing and greater personal responsibility has achieved
significant results – locally and nationally – at a time of financial pressure
on public services. This has made residents safer in Elmbridge, and punctured
the myth that the secret to lower crime is simply funnelling more and more
taxpayers’ money into policing budgets.
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