Andrew Selous MP welcomes the announcement that Bedfordshire Police has a record high 1,445 police officers after 195 extra police officers have been recruited since September 2019. Over 400 of the new officers are student officers who are the largely trained in Luton and Bedford, and there are small number of experience officers who are having to train them as well. As those officers complete their training, they will be much more visible on our street. Recently, Bedfordshire Police have committed to hosting a drop-in at Bossard House in Leighton Buzzard every Thursday morning for residents to have the opportunity to talk face to face with an officer.
This delivers on a 2019 manifesto commitment by the Government to recruit 20,000 additional officers by March 2023 and tackle crime across the nation. The total number of police officers now comes to nearly 150,000, more than 3,500 higher than the previous peak in 2010.
The Government’s Beating Crime Plan will deliver a safer Britain alongside record funding for our police, with a £17.2 billion policing budget for 2023–2024. This is alongside the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Act, which is giving the police and courts the powers they need to tackle serious crime head on. The Government is also delivering its Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, backed by £100 million in funding, making the streets and neighbourhoods of South West Bedfordshire safer for women and girls.
Since 2010, crime excluding fraud has been cut by over 50 per cent. Theft has been reduced by 20 per cent and domestic burglary by 30 per cent. The Government has also taken 90,000 knives off our streets through stop and search, surrender initiatives and targeted police action since 2019.
Commenting, Andrew Selous said:
“From working with our local police department, I know just how valuable 195 more officers will be in preventing crime. Residents of South West Bedfordshire deserve to feel safe in our community.”