Rishi Sunak vows to recruit 8,000 more police officers as part of a law & order crackdown
RISHI Sunak is promising to recruit 8,000 more bobbies on the beat as part of a law and order crackdown.
He wants to beef up the blue line to tackle everyday crimes, such as car thefts and anti-social behaviour, that blight lives.
The Prime Minister says he will also give them extra powers, including seizing zombie knives, to drive down neighbourhood crime.
The intervention from Mr Sunak comes as he tries to reset the election agenda, having triggered outrage for skipping a D-Day commemoration event.
It also comes ahead of the Tories’ manifesto launch tomorrow as they try to claw back a 20-point poll deficit to Labour — and with third-placed Reform hot on their heels.
The recruitment move will be paid for by raising the cost of visas by 25 per cent and overseas students paying a higher healthcare surcharge.
A dedicated officer will be embedded in every community to try to cut crimes such as domestic burglaries and drug offences.
New powers, including new technology such as mobile facial recognition units to spot troublemakers, will be made available to police.
The Tories will use GPS tracking technology to search for stolen phones without a warrant, a move included in legislation that was halted when the election was called.
The neighbourhood policing proposal is similar to Boris Johnson’s plan to recruit 20,000 officers in three years in England and Wales — but critics point out they merely replaced the same number of officers lost in the years after 2010.
Mr Sunak said: “Our new 20,000 new police officers since 2019 have made a huge difference, with neighbourhood crime down 48 per cent as a result.
“We will now go further by hiring 8,000 more police officers, each one dedicated to their local community.
“People deserve to feel safe in their neighbourhood.
“More bobbies on the beat and increased powers will give police forces the tools they need to drive down neighbourhood crime even further.
“Labour has no plan and no idea how to fund more police officers.
“Our clear plan will create a more secure future for neighbourhoods up and down the country.”
Trust us to deliver on crime agenda
By Chris Philp, Policing Minister
ONLY the Conservatives can be trusted to deliver on cutting crime.
Getting more bobbies on the beat is the single best way to tackle crimes that people notice every day, the robberies, assaults and antisocial behaviour that can blight a neighbourhood.
We said we’d hire 20,000 new police officers in 2019, and we delivered them a year early. We will now hire an extra 8,000.
We are already at record numbers of police officers, and this will take us to new heights.
Having cut overall crime by 55 per cent since 2010, this will help get crime down even more.
Sun readers know the basic fact that, to get crime down and get the results Brits deserve, you need a proper plan.
The Conservatives are tough on crime and have a clear plan to get it down further.
Whereas Labour are soft on crime and have no plan to cut crime where it counts.
Wherever Labour is in power or control, they let crime and criminals run rife.
Across England and Wales, Labour Police and Crime Commissioners have 40 per cent higher crime than Conservatives.
The highest profile, Sadiq Khan, has overseen a 54 per cent rise in knife crime in London.
Labour is putting a lot of effort into trying to convince people they are strong on crime.
But we all know they’re not and will let down people.
Don’t give them the chance to yet again prove us right.
The Tories claim that under their watch over the past 14 years violent crime is down 44 per cent and reoffending rates have fallen from more than 30 per cent to 25 per cent.
The Tory plan is for 2,000 officers to recruited every year until 2027/28 at an annual cost of £818million.
But Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This is yet another empty promise from a desperate Tory party that has decimated neighbourhood policing over the last 14 years.”
Labour’s neighbourhood crime plan involves recruiting an extra 13,000 police constables and community support officers.