Cuts putting public at risk

Cuts to local police forces have sparked a political row. The North West has 911 fewer police officers compared to Spring 2010.

Greater Manchester Police axed 357 officers last year, among more than 4,600 posts lost in England and Wales.

Labour argues the statistics prove that damage to policing from the Government’s 20 per cent cuts is even worse than previously feared and that cutting 16,200 police officers nationally is an irresponsible gamble with crime and public safety.

North West Regional Spokesman Ivan Lewis said: “The speed and scale of the Tory-led Government’s cuts have put police forces in an impossible position. Already we have lost more than 900 police officers in the region since Spring 2010; including 357 in Greater Manchester, 219 in Merseyside, 201 in Lancashire, 76 in Cheshire and 58 in Cumbria.

“These latest figures show this government is taking an irresponsible gamble and undermining all the progress we have made in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in the North West.”

But the Conservatives hit back: MP Gavin Barwell said “Labour’s hypocrisy knows no bounds. Police officer numbers were starting to fall on their watch. They refused to rule out cutting police officer numbers during the general election. And since the election, they have admitted they had a secret plan to cut the police themselves.