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Big rise in Yorkshire crime as police cash cuts bite
Posted on 23/05/2011
THOUSANDS of extra offences have been reported across Yorkshire this year with fears the new crimewave could be a worrying sign that slashed police budgets and lax sentencing guidelines are threatening public safety.
Figures obtained by the Yorkshire Post show crime rates have risen significantly almost everywhere in the region in the first five months of this year compared to the same period in 2010.
North Yorkshire is the worst affected, with crime spiralling by more than 15 per cent in Harrogate, 13 per cent in Selby and six per cent in York, and a force-wide rise of nearly six per cent.
Over the same period, Humberside Police has seen crime increase by nearly six per cent and West Yorkshire Police by more than two per cent, with 46,675 offences reported so far this year.
Last month, Meredydd Hughes, the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police - the only force where crime has fallen this year – became the first police chief to question the scope of the cuts.
The region’s forces are shedding thousands of posts as they attempt to tackle a £200m black hole in their budgets by 2015.
North Yorkshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable, Tim Madgwick, has now urged the Government to reconsider its controversial sentencing review, claiming it will make it harder to combat crimes such as burglary if serial offenders are spared jail.
"The proposed guidelines are due to have an impact," he said. "I hope the Government is going to see the light on this and realise there are certain categories of offences that are not to be played around with by politics.
"There are certain offences where people should know they will go to prison - domestic burglary is one of them. That is an issue where I completely disagree with the Government.
"There are other areas where restorative justice is an appropriate cause of action, but if you go out to commit a burglary you should go to jail. I have met too many elderly people who have been the subject of burglaries and it has completely ruined their lives.
"The recession is playing its part. There is a lag to some degree and we haven’t seen the full impact of it yet.
"I worry our most vulnerable will become increasingly so in terms of crime and anti-social behaviour.
"But the police are here to protect the most vulnerable and I feel we still have the resources to do that."
A Police Federation survey about the Government plans to slash budgets by a fifth revealed 88 per cent of Yorkshire’s rank-and-file officers believe it will have a detrimental effect on crime levels.
Labour MP for York Central Hugh Bayley said: “I expected that crime would increase if the police cuts went ahead, but I never expected the tide to turn as quickly as this.
"The more the crime rate mushrooms, the more victims there will be and the greater the human and financial cost. These figures are deeply worrying and very shocking."
Police claim many of the reported crimes are being influenced by the recession, with burglary, diesel and metal theft and vehicle crime all significantly up in many areas.
Coun Mark Burns-Williamson, the West Yorkshire Police Authority’s chairman and member of the region’s Joint Police Authority, said: “It is a concern that the first quarter does show an upward trend in terms of reported crime.
"The scale of the cuts is bound to have an impact. Potentially this is the beginning of that. Obviously we need to wait for more information over the coming months."
But the Home Office maintained police forces can make savings while protecting front-line services and “prioritising the visibility and availability of policing".
Response from the North Yorkshire Police Federation
Responding to a report in today’s Yorkshire Post about crime rising throughout North Yorkshire in the first five months of this year compared to the same period in 2010 seeing increases of more than 15 per cent in Harrogate, 13 per cent in Selby and six per cent in York, and a force-wide rise of nearly six per cent.
Mark Botham, chairman of North Yorkshire Police Federation said:
"Whilst we take no pleasure in seeing this increase it shows that we were not scaremongering when we pointed to Civitas research earlier in the year warning of a crime rise.
It shows we were not scaremongering when we reported the Ipsos MORI survey showing that 86% of the general public would be worried if the police stopped providing the range of services outlined by interviewers.
And it shows we were nit scaremongering when we reported on the survey of our own members published last week showing an incredible 87% of police officers believe cutting police officer numbers in North Yorkshire will have a detrimental effect on crime levels.
We have also pointed out that in March 2007 the number of Constables, Sergeants, Inspectors and Chief Inspectors in North Yorkshire Police stood at almost 1650. Today that number has reduced to less than 1500 and, under documents prepared as part of the 2012 Next Steps programme in November 2010 (before Comprehensive Spending Review, before Winsor & before Hutton), will fall to around 1250 by 2013 - a reduction of more than 30% in just 6 years. The last time the number of police officers was at that level was in 2000 and in 2001 / 2 almost 50% of North Yorkshire Police Officers were assaulted in the course of their duties.
The current figures and the lessons of history stand in stark contrast to the views expressed by the government that cuts to policing are achievable without crime rising or affecting service delivery to the public. It is time the politicians started to listen.
Especially as a phenomenal 99% of our members feel morale has fallen owing to planned police budget cuts, the possibility of a reduction in police officer numbers, possible changes to their terms and conditions, and how this will all impact upon the service they are able to give to the public.
"The message from police officers in North Yorkshire is loud and clear. They feel they are being hit from all sides by this government who, in addition to attacking their terms and conditions, are imposing a 20 percent cut on the service which will undoubtedly lead to increased levels of crime and a poorer service for the public in North Yorkshire.
The Federation is not opposed to change and accept that policing must play its part in public sector cuts. However, if this government truly believes in considered and informed change for the better then they should have the courage of their convictions and establish a Royal Commission on policing.
Cuts of this magnitude are criminal and, despite the very best efforts of ranks and file police officers, will undoubtedly lead to a poorer service for the residents and businesses in North Yorkshire. That is why it is imperative that those who live and work in North Yorkshire make clear to our local politicians that a cut of this magnitude to the police budget needs to be urgently reconsidered by national government before it is too late and we all suffer the unintended consequences of their actions."
