The Labour Party has pledged to put bobbies back on the beat to combat the soaring levels of crime in every community.
In Birmingham, street crime has steadily been on the rise under the Conservatives.
In 2021, Birmingham was named the “gun capital” of the UK, and last month it was reported that the West Midlands Police force has highest knife crime rate in England and Wales.
Labour is promising to put 13,000 neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the beat in communities across the country, visible and present in local areas, deterring crime and catching criminals, with guaranteed neighbourhood patrols.
Labour says the damage done to policing and the criminal justice system over the last fourteen years means that policing has been unable to respond to the new surge in street crime driven by serious and organised criminals. The decimation of neighbourhood policing, the collapse in charges, and the lack of focus on local community crime have all had devastating consequences for communities, the Party says.
In the West Midlands, 2,200 officers were cut by the Conservatives. The region still has 800 fewer officers than in 2010.
Across the UK, enforcement action has collapsed, with arrests having halved since 2010, including sharp drops for thefts, and as the proportion of thieves being punished for their crimes has plummeted.
Earlier this month, Preet Kaur Gill raised the issue of crime in Birmingham, Edgbaston in an adjournment debate in Parliament on the back of deep concern about rising levels of crime in her community.
Preet Kaur Gill, Labour Candidate for Birmingham Edgbaston, said:
“It’s disgraceful that 90 per cent of crimes are going unsolved. Everyone should be confident that if something goes wrong, that laws will be respected and enforced. Residents in Edgbaston deserve to feel safe and secure in their homes and communities. This Conservative government has let them down.
“Labour will put an end to Tory chaos and be a government of law and order, putting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the beat in our communities, introducing tough new powers to crackdown on those who cause havoc on our high streets, and a mission to reverse the collapse in the number of crimes being solved.”
ENDS
Notes:
Birmingham overtakes London as 'gun capital' of Britain with huge surge in gang violence - Mirror Online
West Midlands Police force area has highest knife crime rate - BBC NewsHome Office arrest statistics show that total arrests have fallen by 50% compared to 2010, with falls in theft arrests since 2018 -https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ef2d375b6524100bf21b08/arrests-data-tables-summary-mar23-second-edition.xlsx
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