Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb and Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner Candidate Jay Singh-Sohal have raised concerns about slow progress being made by the current Police and Crime Commissioner to recruit new police officers in the West Midlands.
New recruitment figures from government show that only 27 new police officers were recruited in the region by June. This out of the 366 that are to be funded by the Government in the first phase of a major employment drive that began in September 2019.
Since the start of the recruitment campaign, a total of 4,336 extra officers have joined police forces across England and Wales as a direct result of extra funding from the Conservatives. It puts the Government on track to hit its manifesto commitment of 20,000 extra officers by 2023.
Yet in the West Midlands, the Labour Police and Crime Commissioner has presided over a force that has fall behind others when it comes to recruitment of new officers. In comparison, the neighbouring smaller police forces of Warwickshire and West Mercia have recruited 89 and 93 more police officers, respectively. Both are overseen by Conservative Police and Crime Commissioners.
Suzanne Webb said:
“We need more police officers on the streets of Stourbridge to combat drug dealing, car crime and house burglaries. However, I am concerned that our local police force is falling behind many others across the country.
“West Midlands Police should be recruiting as fast as possible, not waiting so long to take advantage of the new funding made available by Government. I would urge the Police and Crime Commissioner to speed up recruitment so more officers can be deployed to our streets.
“Areas in my constituency need those new officers to tackle crime. Stourbridge has lost out due to previous decisions made by the Police and Crime Commissioner, including losing our Police Station. Money has been provided by this Government to put more officers on our streets and so this figure is very disappointing”
Jay Singh-Sohal said:
“The Police and Crime Commissioner needs to explain these disappointing recruitment figures, especially considering we are the second largest police force area in England. We have the investment from the Government, and we have the need for more officers on our streets – but our area is being let down by an ineffective Labour Police and Crime.
“If I am elected, I will speed up our recruitment efforts by prioritising the frontline and developing the careers of cadets, Specials and PCSOs. I will draw from my experience of engagement in the British Army to ensure we are doing more to recruit talent from across our diverse areas and help build community confidence in policing.
“Stourbridge deserves a Police and Crime Commissioner that listens to the community’s concerns and acts on them. I know resident here want to see more police based locally but the current Commissioners approach is clearly not working.”
