Call to back police fairer funding plea

Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg says the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics highlight the need for a fairer approach to central funding of police forces.

Speaking as the Government released its latest national statistics for police performance, Mr Hogg has urged the people of Devon and Cornwall to back his Fair Funding campaign which demands Home Secretary Theresa May revisits the formula she uses to share out money between police forces.

“A reduction in recorded crime does not indicate falling demand on police officers,” said Mr Hogg.

“Evidence produced by the College of Policing is clear – crime accounts for a relatively small proportion of police work.

“In fact, this evidence shows an increasing complexity in the nature of police work and that’s down to cyber crime, child sexual exploitation, domestic and sexual abuse and modern slavery. In addition non-crime issues such as mental health and missing persons increases the burden.

“This data shows that efforts by Devon and Cornwall Police to tackle theft and other acquisitive crime are paying off.

“Put those two facts together and it means the crime mix in the peninsula is skewed towards more complex offences such as violent crime and sexual offences. Rates for these crimes are relatively high and require more support for victims and close working with partners to address effectively.

“For example, a complex crime type like violence against the person represents 27% of recorded crime in Devon and Cornwall compared to 23% in the Met, 21% in Greater Manchester and 19% in Merseyside.

“Conversely a more straightforward offence such as theft and acquisitive crime accounts for more than half of crime in urban and metropolitan forces compared to 39% in Devon and Cornwall.

“This pattern is similar in other rural forces and supports our challenge to the funding formula.

“So yes, total recorded crime continues to fall and Devon and Cornwall is currently the fifth safest place to live in England and Wales. But without a fair share of the national policing budget, and given that we know further cuts in budget are on the way, we can’t expect to see further reductions in burglary and vehicle crime, which are currently down to record low levels.

“At the same time we are pleased to see an increase in the number of recorded sexual offences. Feedback from partners is that victims are far more willing to come forward. It’s a positive trend but we will need a fair share of national funding for the police to be able to ensure the victims receive a high standard of support.”

Mr Hogg is also hoping the Force will repeat the excellent performance figures recorded last summer.

He said: “In 2013 I challenged the chief constable to improve performance during the summer months and his officers responded magnificently."
“Performance figures in summer 2014 were so good, even in the face of high visitor numbers, that it may well be difficult to repeat that in 2015 and even harder in the years after that.”