Commissioner calls for extra police in Reeves' spending review
The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has called on the Chancellor to use Wednesday's Spending Review to restore the region's front-line policing numbers to "pre-austerity levels". Compared to 2010 there were nearly 700 fewer police officers in the West Midlands, "despite rising demand and increasing complexity in the nature of crime", PCC Simon Foster said. He called for a "fairer funding formula" in Rachel Reeves' statement that would allocate resources based on "actual demand and need" rather than "outdated metrics".The BBC has contacted the Home Office for comment.
The Spending Review on Wednesday will see Reeves set department allocations for the next three to four years.Reports on Monday suggested there would be an above-inflation increase for policing, but that the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, had not yet reached agreement on her department's settlement.Mr Foster said the region had been left "short-changed for far too long" after "historic under-funding".He added that it was "not fair and not just" that other force areas "had more officers than they had ever had in their force histories". "It's time for the government to take this opportunity to put that right," the PCC said.
'Opportunity to invest'
He described the current funding formula as "broken and unfit for purpose"."It fails to account for the scale of demand we face, from serious organised crime to safeguarding vulnerable people. "This is not about more money, it is about delivering a fairer allocation of funding, to keep our people and communities safe and secure."Mr Foster urged the government to use the review as an "opportunity to invest in public safety" and "deliver the resources" the force needed.
Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Moment boy racer hits 120mph during police chase before ploughing into car leaving woman with serious injuries
This is the shocking moment a boy racer drove at speeds of 120mph before crashing into an innocent woman's car, leaving her with serious injuries. William Sandouka, 19, was racing another vehicle along the A5 in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, when he fled from police officers in his Audi S3. The teenager, from the city, eventually stopped when he crashed into the woman's car on the night of May 17 last year - but he was only given a suspended sentence. Detectives said Sandouka's 'reckless decision to treat the roads like a racetrack ended in causing a serious collision and injuring an innocent person'. He received two years' imprisonment - suspended for two years – as well as a three year driving ban, 200 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation. A Thames Valley Police spokesperson said: 'Under Operation Chromium, we're cracking down on street racing, cruising, anti-social and dangerous driving. We will not tolerate anyone who puts lives at risk for a few seconds of speed.' The force added: 'We want to wish the victim a swift and full recovery. We also want to thank her for her bravery in bringing Sandouka to justice.'
BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
Teenage car passenger who died in Barrow crash is named
A teenage car passenger who died in a crash has been named by Paul Jolley, 19, died when an Audi S4 and Volkswagen Up collided on the A5087 Coast Road at Rampside in Barrow, Cumbria, at about 13:00 BST on Jolley, from Ulverston, was a passenger in the Volkswagen. The driver, a man also in his late teens, remains in a stable condition in hospital. The 20-year-old male driver of the Audi, who comes from Barrow, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving while over the prescribed limit of a specified drug. He was released pending further investigations. Cumbria Police has urged witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to contact force said it was looking for the driver or any passengers in a white car that was travelling on the Coast Road, heading away from Barrow, at about the time the collision happened. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
Somerset police officer banned after pretending to work from home
A police officer who held down keys on his laptop to make it look like he was working when he was not has been barred from Liam Reakes, who was based in Yeovil, was found to have committed gross misconduct at an Avon and Somerset Police panel hearing panel heard how, between June and September 2024, he weighed down his laptop's Z key at "regular intervals" for "considerable periods" of time, causing the loss of more than 100 hours' of police would have been sacked had he not already resigned from the force, and has now been banned from working in law enforcement again. Mr Reakes was caught after an internal audit of keystrokes in September 2024 flagged his total as much higher than others doing similar did not attend the hearing, but admitted opening a blank Word document and holding down the Z key for long periods of time, denying this was to give a false impression he was working from home. Head of the force's professional standards department Det Supt Larisa Hunt said: "PC Reakes was the subject of an action plan and was allocated a tutor due to concerns over his performance prior to the keyboard audit being carried out."The use of any device or system to replicate keyboard activity is wholly wrong and deceptive and the public will be rightly outraged at this behaviour. "Not only has he let down those he made a commitment to serve and protect but he's also let down his colleagues, who are continuing to deal with significant pressure and workloads."
