Violent crimes up 18% in England, Wales
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VIOLENT crimes such as murder and knife attacks surged by 18 percent in England and Wales in the past year, the sharpest rise for a decade, according to official figures released yesterday.
The increase comes amid heated rows about police funding and a fall in the number of officers, with opponents accusing Prime Minister Theresa May’s government of putting the public at risk by slashing budgets.
Statistics from the 44 police forces showed there were more than 1.1 million violent crimes in the year to March 2017 with large increases also in robbery and sex crimes, while overall nearly 5 million offences were recorded, up by 10 percent from the year before.
“We recognize that crime is changing and we are determined to get ahead of new and emerging threats to the safety and security of our families and communities,” said police minister Nick Hurd.
He said it was clear they needed to do more to tackle the issue.
Government figures show the number of police officers dropped by 19,000 between 2010 and 2016 as forces coped with smaller budgets, and the opposition Labour Party said the latest figures were “a damning indictment of the Tory (Conservative) record.”
“The Tories simply aren’t allowing the police to protect the public,” Labour’s home affairs spokeswoman Diane Abbott said.
“Despite promising to protect budgets, they continue to cut funding even as a senior figures in policing line up to warn they are overstretched and struggle to cope with demand.”
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