THE Police Federation has blamed rising crime figures in much of North Yorkshire on police cuts.
Figures released yesterday showed that reported crime in several areas of North Yorkshire had risen in the first five months of 2011.
Locally, figures showed a rise of 15 per cent in Harrogate, 13 per cent in Selby, and six per cent in York, but a decrease of 6.2 per cent in Scarborough and Ryedale.
Tim Madgwick, assistant chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, said the figures were a “snapshot comparison”, and not a true representation of the work of the force.
He said a rise in metal theft, burglaries and shoplifting across the county was likely to be due to the financial climate: “It is well known that this type of acquisitive crime tends to increase at times of economic recession. Despite these challenges, I am confident that these trends are currently being reversed,” he said.
Mark Botham, chairman of the North Yorkshire Police Federation, which represents rank and file policemen, said the figures showed cuts to the police force would lead to an increase in crime.
He also said that the number of constables, sergeants, inspectors and chief inspectors in North Yorkshire Police had fallen from almost 1,650 in 2007, to fewer than 1,500, and was set to fall to about 1,250 by 2013.
Mr Botham said: “The last time the number of police officers was at that level was in 2000, and in 2001/2002 almost 50 per cent 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.”
Last week, The Press reported that in 2010, crime in York had fallen by just over five per cent, from 15,427 to 14,601, with reported crime in Bishopthorpe falling by almost 47 per cent.
In Selby, figures fell by almost 10.5 per cent in 2010, with 425 fewer crimes reported to the police than in 2009, and 1,135 fewer than in 2008.
Although crimes across the county were mainly down on 2009, some drug and sexual offences, violent crimes and robberies had increased.
In March, Inspector Chris Witty, in charge of policing in the Selby area, said higher figures for January and February were “a blip”, and the increase was due to repeat victims, and effective and increased policing.
Public safety must come first
LAST week, we gave North Yorkshire Police a pat on the back for continuing to drive down crime in the teeth of spending cuts. The figures we examined then, however, related to 2010, when crime was down on the year before.
New figures for the first five months of 2011, however, reveal a very different picture across much of North Yorkshire. Crime is down in Scarborough and Ryedale, by 6.2 per cent. But in Harrogate it is up 15 per cent, in Selby up 13 per cent, and in York up six per cent.
The North Yorkshire Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, has long warned that cuts would lead to rising crime.
These latest figures reinforce that, said Federation spokesman Mark Botham. “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.”
Rising crime may be partly down to the greater insecurity we are all experiencing post-recession. Assistant chief constable Tim Madgwick stressed that in Selby, the sharp increase was also partly due to police being proactive in cracking down on drugs offences and disorder. North Yorkshire and York remain among the safest places to live, he said.
If police spending cuts are to blame for a rise in crime locally, however, that is a real worry.
We accept the need for savings, but not at the expense of public safety. If senior force managers cannot make the cuts demanded by central government without crime rising, then they should make the case for more resources to Whitehall.
And the Westminster coalition politicians who suggested that police spending could be cut without crime rising must start to take responsibility for the consequences of their decisions.
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