OFFICIAL statistics show that as police officer and PCSO numbers have fallen across Essex, crime has soared.
The government’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures released on Thursday (18 October) show that from June 2017 to June 2018, police recorded crime in the county increased by 12 per cent, violent crime went up by nearly a quarter (24.6 per cent), and weapons possession by a third.
Since the Tories came to power in 2010, the number of police officers in Essex has fallen by 600, and the number of police community support officers has dropped by 300.
John Kent, the Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate for Thurrock said: “We can’t keep the Essex, let alone Thurrock, safe on the cheap. The government is failing in their duty to protect us and keep our people safe.
“Since they came to power, the Tories have cut and cut our police. Despite last week’s announcements, we all know our force here is desperately under staffed and overstretched.
“The appalling result is that in just a year violent crime, and weapons possession soared.
“This can’t go on. The figures show that this is a national problem – so it needs a national solution. If Theresa May really meant her promise to end austerity, then why isn’t she promising to cancel and reverse all the police cuts she has planned for the next four years? And why isn’t Jackie Doyle-Price calling for the cuts to be cancelled in November’s Budget?
“These figures are an awful indictment of the Tory cuts. The next Labour Government will recruit 10,000 new police officers nationwide to address this crisis.”
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