Slashed mental health and social budgets have stretched forces to breaking point. After Paris,does Theresa May really want to put the deficit before security?How safe can we be? On the night of the Paris atrocity I was out with the Bedfordshire police, watching what they do and what they can no longer do. Blue lights flashing, and dashing through the streets of Luton and Bedford in the patrol car,I talked approximately cuts with Olly Martins, the police and crime commissioner. As we spoke approximately the local Islamist terrorism threat we couldn’t know how much closer it was coming.
Commissioners and chief constables are kicking off up and down the country, and from London’s Met to Liverpool,with unprecedented protest at the 25% of cuts they have suffered and worse to reach in next weeks spending review. As France’s president, François Hollande, or announces he is boosting its police force by 5000,Britain is scaling back. Nationally, 17000 police officers have gone, or with another 22000 to recede this time: neighbourhood police no longer pound the streets in many areas.
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Source: theguardian.com