In the Devon and Cornwall force around 500 officers were cut and this had a devastating impact on crime in our communities, much of which was initially shrugged off by government and on the face of it ignored by the incumbent Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez. Over the first four years of her term for example, violent crime is recorded as having risen by 93%, to become the most predominant form of crime across Devon and Cornwall. During the same period, prosecution rates fell to historic lows, halving in the four years to 2019 as the resource constraints made it increasingly difficult for the police to give priority to enough of the crime that is being experienced in our communities. Desperate to show an increase in officer numbers, the Commissioner cynically “paid Peter to cut Paul” with a plan that would generate 176 warranted officers but only cutting over 210 Police Community Support Officers. Sadly the PCSO reductions removed from the streets many officers who had proven pivotal in supporting and working with a variety of other agencies providing intelligence gathering, boosting crime prevention and delivering innovative solution-finding. Working together with warranted officers, particularly in more dense urban communities like Plymouth and Falmouth, PCSOs created a powerful community policing effect that can never be replicated while overall officer numbers remain badly diminished.

Although the recruitment programme to deliver the “national police uplift” has been reduced by 25% in 2021, the government remains committed to its full delivery by 2023. For Devon and Cornwall this will mean that from May 2021 to May 2023 there will be at least 300 additional officers recruited into the force which opens the very real opportunity to put officers back into Neighbourhood Teams and re-establish a much stronger police presence wherever you live in Devon and Cornwall. The financial circumstances going forward make it very unlikely that this improvement will restore the level of overall policing capability that was so foolishly cut away, but it will be an excellent foundation for further growth in resources and policing effectiveness into the long-term.

As your future Police and Crime Commissioner I will ensure that every Neighbourhood Team will see a boost in police officer numbers, and I welcome the re-introduction of additional Police Community Support Officers wherever there is a need for their unique skills and capabilities. These officers will be out on the streets, working with your community. Only by re-building real community based policing will the residents of Devon and Cornwall know that it is their interests that are being best served.

https://www.garethderrick.org/an-extra-300-officers-by-2023