Police on the beat ‘endangered species’ claim

CUTTING 3,000 police staff will increase crime and set Oldham back decades, say Labour.

Oldham Labour councillors led campaigners wearing police helmets in a protest against the cuts outside Oldham Job Centre yesterday. They have launched a petition attacking the job losses, which will cut more than 20 per cent of Greater Manchester Police’s workforce to save £134 million. It will see 1,387 police officers axed by 2015 with around 309 police officer posts and 750 civilian jobs going next year. Oldham Labour group leader, Councillor Jim McMahon, said: “The petition is about cuts to 999 services over the last month. We have seen GMP announce 3,000 redundancies, the fire service 150 and the primary care trust have got to cut £80 million, which will lead to job losses.
“Public services in Oldham have taken decades to build up and overnight it’s being demolished. One in three workers in Oldham work in the public sector and when we are talking about huge redundancies on this scale it will affect Oldham and put it back decades.

“You can’t make cuts on this scale so quickly when there are no other jobs to go into.”

He said crime in Oldham has fallen year on year through increasing the number of police officers and Labour introducing PCSOs in 2004, who have built up intelligence, worked closely with communities and organised positive activities for young people — which are all being taken away.

The campaign states they are the “wrong cuts at the wrong time” and Councillor McMahon said savings could be made elsewhere instead.

Councillor Steve Bashforth, Labour’s spokesman on community safety and public protection, said: “We are very concerned about the effect it will have on grassroots in the community.

“We have seen low-level crime significantly reduced, particularly in my ward of Royton South, where it’s probably at an all-time low.

“If police officers and PCSOs go then this sort of crime that actually affects people will increase. We will not see any police on the beat, they will become an endangered species. It will be a disaster.”

Unison representatives and residents joined the protest.

The petition will be taken around Oldham and distributed through leaflets and will be available to sign online at www.999wrongcut swrongtime.com.

It will be presented to Oldham Council next month.