A petition calling on the Government to shelve plans for further cuts to policing has been launched by the Labour Party.
The petition is sponsored by former Met Commissioner Lord John Stevens with organisers hoping to attract 100,000 signatures, possibly triggering a debate in Parliament, before the Chancellor, George Osborne, delivers his Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) speech on 25 November.
Lord Stevens calls on ministers to “drop plans for drastic cuts”, “listen to the public and police officers” and also warns of the “end of neighbourhood policing”.
The Labour campaign, launched last week, will run until the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections in May and focuses on further cuts to policing threatening community safety since reduced funding could mean even fewer police officers.
It hopes to put pressure on the Government not to cut policing by 25 per cent or more over the next five years.
Labour believes any cuts in double figures will have damaging consequences for policing and public safety. But the Police Federation of England and Wales has said no further cuts are acceptable.
“We consider that further reduction in police budgets will put public safety at risk; as well as the risk to officers as a result of less support, increased workloads and greater strain,” says a spokesman for the Federation.
The petition can be found here:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/111560
Following the CSR, the campaign will focus on the police grant allocation, which is expected in December, and then it will aim to put pressure on prospective PCCs in the run-up to their elections.
