Officer cuts ‘U-turn’

Greater Manchester Police will have to fight crime with 1,500 fewer officers than they were promised at the election, Labour claimed last night.

GMP is set to reduce its force by 1,387 over the next four years as part of government spending cuts.

But Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the picture was even bleaker after the Lib-Dems U-turned on a pre-election pledge to put an additional 3,000 officers on the beat, including an extra 155 across the Greater Manchester.

Labour says the police budget has been hit harder than most with 20 per cent cuts, expected to lead to the loss of 12,000 officers in total.

Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg said before the election if 10,000 more officers were recruited, they would solve an extra 82,265 crimes.

Using the same logic, 12,000 police officers lost would mean 98,718 fewer crimes would be solved every year, Labour claims.

Ms Cooper said: “The Liberal Democrats have never been a party of law and order. They are now part of a Tory-led Government which is turning its back on the fight against crime and letting communities across the country down.”

She said there was a split between the Lib-Dems and their Conservative coalition partners, as the latter denies any link between police numbers and the level of crime.

A Lib-Dem spokesman said: “The coalition needs to dig out the deep-rooted problems left behind by Labour. Police officers became hindered by a service that became bloated and inefficient, more focussed on bureaucracy and targets rather than actually helping and protecting the British people.

“Despite officer numbers reaching record levels, only 11 per cent are visible and available to the public.

“The effectiveness of a police force does not depend on the number of staff but on the way police officers are deployed.”