25 February 2005
Behind all the recent press, concerning the council tax increase for our policing service lies the fact that the plans up to March 2006 do not allow for any more police officers at all. Mike Penning, Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate this week called for more police to be stationed in Hemel Hempstead to combat the soaring violent crime rate.
The Hertfordshire Police Authority recently announced their increase of 4.9% in Council Tax. They took the trouble to point out that they were to receive inadequate funding from Government whilst being capped at an increase of below 5%. They have only managed to balance their books by dipping into their reserves for £600,000 and by cutting some support functions.
Mike Penning, Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate commented,
“This funding issue is just ridiculous. Looked at another way Hertfordshire Police have been given an increase of just 3.8% (from £104.8m to £108.8m) in their grant. This amounts to a mere £4m additional funds. The additional costs of nationally agreed pay awards, pay changes, pension costs and increased fuel bills, none of which Hertfordshire have any say over, amounts to £7.4m, nearly twice the increase in government funding. The sums just don’t add up.”
Penning went on to explain:
“Violent crime in Hemel Hempstead is increasing at an alarming rate. In the last quarter of 2004 it increased by 68% over the same period in 2003. For the whole of 2003/04 there were 1,276 violence offences reported. By December 2004, only three quarters of the way through the next year, already 1,443 violent crimes had been reported, which means that we are heading for an annualised increase of some 150%. In March 2004 there were 2,161 police officers in Hertfordshire. The Police Authority budget now reveals that their full establishment for 2005/2006 will be 2,163 officers, just 2 more police officers for the whole of Hertfordshire? Just where are all these extra police that Blair keeps mentioning I wonder – we are certainly not seeing any of them in Hemel Hempstead. Whilst the situation is bad for Hertfordshire it is particularly acute in Hemel Hempstead. We seem to get a really bad deal from the Hertfordshire Constabulary who decide just where in the county to deploy their scant resources. Hemel Hempstead is one of the largest towns in Hertfordshire yet does not get its fair share of police officers. In March 2004 there was one police officer for 761 Hemel residents whereas in Watford it was 1:466, Stevenage 1:455, St Albans 1:660and in Welwyn/Hatfield 1:430. It is no wonder that violent crime is soaring in Hemel. The Conservatives have already pledged to put 588 more police officers on the streets in Hertfordshire which will be a good start.
The Hertfordshire Police Authority recently announced their increase of 4.9% in Council Tax. They took the trouble to point out that they were to receive inadequate funding from Government whilst being capped at an increase of below 5%. They have only managed to balance their books by dipping into their reserves for £600,000 and by cutting some support functions.
Mike Penning, Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate commented,
“This funding issue is just ridiculous. Looked at another way Hertfordshire Police have been given an increase of just 3.8% (from £104.8m to £108.8m) in their grant. This amounts to a mere £4m additional funds. The additional costs of nationally agreed pay awards, pay changes, pension costs and increased fuel bills, none of which Hertfordshire have any say over, amounts to £7.4m, nearly twice the increase in government funding. The sums just don’t add up.”
Penning went on to explain:
“Violent crime in Hemel Hempstead is increasing at an alarming rate. In the last quarter of 2004 it increased by 68% over the same period in 2003. For the whole of 2003/04 there were 1,276 violence offences reported. By December 2004, only three quarters of the way through the next year, already 1,443 violent crimes had been reported, which means that we are heading for an annualised increase of some 150%. In March 2004 there were 2,161 police officers in Hertfordshire. The Police Authority budget now reveals that their full establishment for 2005/2006 will be 2,163 officers, just 2 more police officers for the whole of Hertfordshire? Just where are all these extra police that Blair keeps mentioning I wonder – we are certainly not seeing any of them in Hemel Hempstead. Whilst the situation is bad for Hertfordshire it is particularly acute in Hemel Hempstead. We seem to get a really bad deal from the Hertfordshire Constabulary who decide just where in the county to deploy their scant resources. Hemel Hempstead is one of the largest towns in Hertfordshire yet does not get its fair share of police officers. In March 2004 there was one police officer for 761 Hemel residents whereas in Watford it was 1:466, Stevenage 1:455, St Albans 1:660and in Welwyn/Hatfield 1:430. It is no wonder that violent crime is soaring in Hemel. The Conservatives have already pledged to put 588 more police officers on the streets in Hertfordshire which will be a good start.
