Mayor needs to do homework as police numbers don’t add up

Posted by GLA Conservatives in News   Share2017

Oct
30

• Mr Khan blames government cuts, but he removed £38m from Met recruitment
• Police reduction numbers cannot be achieved as stated

Assembly Member Steve O’Connell said (in response to article in Guardian today):

“Whilst the Met should absolutely receive appropriate levels of funding, the Mayor does not help make the case for London if he uses questionable figures like these.

“Using Home Office statistics, police numbers would have to fall by over 1,000 every year until 2021. As cops cannot be sacked, the Mayor would need to reduce these numbers through natural wastage, i.e. as officers retire. Such a rate of natural wastage has never occurred before in the history of the Met, so his claims amount to nothing more than scaremongering.

“He also can’t blame the Government for the recent fall in police numbers. It was his own decision to cut £38m from this year’s recruitment budget that made maintaining staffing levels impossible.

“Yes the Met needs to receive appropriate levels of funding, but attacking the Government is not the best way to achieve this.”