Just as it seems one consultation finishes, another begins. This time it’s Roger Hurst’s second consultation asking yet again for more money for Essex Police. We’ve seen a rise in the precept for policing this year and now Roger Hirst is eyeing up your wallets again to pay for the black hole left by Conservative austerity. Why is Mr Hirst asking yet again for more money in such a short space of time?
What would the Lib Dems do differently?
After years of reduction in traditional crime, we have seen an increase, particularly in violent crime, since 2015. At the same time police forces are under pressure from reduced funding, with less money available for the community policing we all value.
For these reasons, Liberal Democrats will:
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Increase community policing in England and Wales by giving an additional £300m a year to local police forces to reverse the increase in violent crime, boost community confidence and increase the flow of community intelligence.
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Maintain, as part of our fight against Hard Brexit, cross-border co-operation in combating
serious
organised crime, including international fraud and child sexual exploitation, by retaining the European Arrest Warrant, membership of Europol and access to EU information databases.
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End the 1% cap on police pay rises.
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Require all frontline officers to wear body cameras on duty, protecting the public from abuse of power and police officers from malicious accusations.
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Resource BAME staff associations such as the National Black Police Association to increase ethnic diversity and BAME participation in the police.
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Provide government funding for a national rape crisis helpline with increased opening hours and advertisement.
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End the anomaly that forces Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to pay VAT on their purchases.
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Replace Police and Crime Commissioners, elected at great expense in elections with
very low
turnout, with accountable Police Boards made up of local councillors.
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Build on the success of crime maps to use data more effectively to reduce crime and improve policing, including exploring the feasibility of mandatory reporting of fraud losses by individual credit and debit card providers.