GM Deputy Mayor calls for 'fair' funding of police

The police are facing unprecedented demand and communities are paying the price, the Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester has said as new crime figures are released.

Deputy Mayor Bev Hughes was speaking out as Home Office statistics reveal that the rising tide of crime continues to show no signs of turning.

Latest figures show a 17-per-cent increase in recorded crime across the city-region, in the 12 months ending June 2018.

Deputy Mayor Bev Hughes said: “We have seen crime rise and rise since 2010, and this is no surprise given the savage cuts that have been imposed on police and across our public services.

"Last month, the Prime Minister told us that austerity is over.

"If that’s the case the Government should invest now in policing and public services before it’s too late to undo the damage of austerity.

“These figures show that crime is continuing to rise, with violent and sexual offences showing the highest increases.

"This is a time when demand on police officers is at an all-time high as they deal with ever more serious cases with a level of complexity we could not have predicted even a few years ago.

“This increase in demand has a dreadful consequence for our communities.

"For, while I expect the police to fully investigate the most serious of crimes, years of central Government cuts mean the police simply cannot investigate every crime.

"This is a difficult conversation to have with the public and I wish this wasn’t the case, which is why we need ministers to stop paying lip service and fairly fund our police.”

The statistics come after it was revealed earlier this week that reports of hate crime in Greater Manchester have gone up by 43-per-cent over the last 12 months.

Deputy Mayor Hughes added: “Hatred and prejudice have no place in Greater Manchester and we have done a lot of work to raise awareness and support victims.

"As a result Greater Manchester has one of the highest reporting rates of hate crime in the country.

"But we know more can be done to ensure every victim has the confidence to speak out, and the Government’s plans to bolster the national approach to tackling hate crime is long overdue.”

This week the Deputy Mayor has stood united with other Police and Crime Commissioners across the country to say #No2Hate, as part of National Hate Crime Awareness Week.

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