Jonathan Djanogly, the Member of Parliament for the Huntingdon Constituency, today pointed to new crime figures published by the Government as evidence that Labour have failed to be tough on crime. The figures released by the Home Office on 17 July show that in the last year violent crime rose by 20% and detection rates are falling to an all-time low.
Mr Djanogly said:
'No amount of statistical manipulation can conceal what everyone already knows: physical violence is a serious problem. This rise shows yet again that the Government is not making enough headway in tackling disorder. Sadly the figures will come as no surprise to the millions of people up and down the country who suffer daily from crime, or the fear of crime - much of it drug related.
I support the hard work of Cambridgeshire Police and congratulate the District Council on taking the initiative with Community Support Officers, but the problem is that the Government's plethora of initiatives and vast bureaucracy is preventing the police from doing the job they are there to do. What we need is a national initiative to deliver a huge boost to police numbers, and a coherent effort to get young people off drugs and off the conveyor belt to crime. This is why Conservatives are proposing an extra 40,000 police officers across England & Wales, with 432 extra police officers allocated to Cambridgeshire, and an extra 20,000 hard drug rehabilitation places.
Government funding has failed to keep pace with the huge increase in the local population over recent years. The significant increase of 432 extra officers proposed by Conservatives for Cambridgeshire will enable improved community policing in our towns and villages - and that is what my constituents tell me they want to see.'
Notes
The Government published new crime statistics on 17 July 2003:Home Office, Crime in England and Wales 2002/2003: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/crimeew0203.html
'Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships - Recorded Crime for Key Offences 2001/02 to 2002/03', break down the change in the 6 key times of crime by local authority area. Figures on the absolute number of offences are listed in the Excel chart. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb703sup1.xls
'Basic Command Unit - Recorded Crime for Key Offences 2001/02 to 2002/03' publish the same figures by 'Basic Command Unit' - the local units that police forces use. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb703sup2.xls
Conservative plans for additional police officers
Police Force: Cambridgeshire
Current Police Strength (Sept 2002) 1,398
Additional police planned 432"