Police forces 'approaching crisis' because of years of Tory cuts, Diane Abbott says

Shadow Home Secretary says police have become 'state agency of last resort'

Diane Abbott told a summit police were being driven into a crisis by years of austerity (Getty)

Policing in the UK is approaching crisis point because of the effects of sustained Tory budget cuts, the Shadow Home Secretary has warned.

Diane Abbott told senior officers gathered in London years of austerity had not only left forces struggling to carry out front-line duties, but also left them deluged with mental health and other non-crime cases as the “state agency of last resort”.

Speaking a day after Amber Rudd told police she does not want to see them “asking for more money”, Ms Abbott accused the Conservatives of being “in denial” about rising crime.

“The Conservatives are in denial on both the level of crime in England and Wales and their level of funding for the police services,” she told the APCC and NPCC Partnership Summit.

“They are also in denial about the effect of their cuts.”

Crime recorded by police has risen by 13 per cent over the past year, with sharp increases in violent and sexual offences, but the Government has cited conflicting statistics from the Crime Survey for England and Wales showing a 9 per cent fall.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd addresses the National Police Chiefs and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Conference (PA)

Part of the recorded crime increase has been attributed to rules requiring police to formally register reported offences, including assault without injury, and increased confidence for victims of sexual abuse to come forward.

But Ms Abbott said rocketing knife crime, shootings and acid attacks “is not a reporting problem, it’s a real problem”.

Raising alarm about the loss of 20,000 police officers since 2010, leaving numbers at their lowest level since 1985, she forecast a worsening situation as real-term funding cuts continue.

“We are moving into a situation where we could be approaching a crisis,” Ms Abbott said.

“Because of cuts elsewhere, police are becoming the state agency of last resort…too many people, and too many in non-crime cases, are landing in police hands because of the decimation of other public services.”

Senior commanders and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) have raised particular concern over increasing responses to mental health cases, and one PCC said less than a fifth of calls to control rooms now involve crime.

Police leaders have called for funding increases to allow the recruitment of 5,000 new police officers to cope with demand.

The Metropolitan Police recently admitted it was stopping investigating some lower-level crimes while working to save £400m by 2020, while new counter closures in London have been announced and Norfolk is cutting its PCSOs.

“The Government and its austerity policy is the source or many of these problems,” Ms Abbott said.

“You cannot keep people safe from crime or terrorism on the cheap.”

She said that while all parties supported “smarter working… the fat has been cut, the flesh has been cut and in terms of policing we’re heading towards the bone,” vowing that Labour would increase funding, employ 10,000 new officers and reverse station closures.

Her speech came after Chief Constable Sara Thornton, chair of the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC), accused the Home Office of underfunding British forces.

“We have jointly raised this stretch with Home Office ministers and officials,” she said. “It has become clear that the 2015 settlement of flat cash for forces is unsustainable.

“Forces are being asked to absorb pay rises and inflation pressures, and this is leading to cuts in services. We are particularly concerned that these cuts are undermining crime prevention and proactive police work.”

Home Secretary Amber Rudd addresses the National Police Chiefs and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Conference (PA)

The Home Secretary responded by telling PCCs to take responsibility for cutting crime in their areas rather than “lobbying the Government for money”.

“When crime stats go up, I don’t just want to see you reaching for a pen to write a press release asking for more money from the Government,” she added.

“We appreciate that the increase in complex, investigatory work has put pressure on forces, as well as the efforts to deal with the unprecedented wave of terrorist attacks we’ve sadly seen this year.

“But police financial reserves now amount to more than £1.6bn and the independent inspectorate remains clear that there is more forces can do to transform, with greater efficiencies still available.”

Ms Rudd highlighted programmes to prevent the sale of knives to under 18s online, a crackdown on acid and moves to ensure police feel able to chase moped criminals.

The Home Secretary also announced the award of £27.45m in “police transformation” funding to another 10 projects.