Mar 31, 2010 0
The real reason for low police rating
Commenting on the news that Thames Valley Police has received a ‘poor’ rating in crime solving from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, and an overall rating of only ‘fair’, Liberal Democrat crime campaigner Cllr Gareth Epps slammed the Labour Government for ‘demotivating attacks’ on police and underfunding local police – the real reason for the rating.
Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat prospective MP for Reading East and Reading Safer Communities spokesperson, said:-
‘This is what happens when police authorities are underfunded and buried under piles of meaningless Labour Government targets. Thames Valley officers work hard to tackle crime – but everywhere I go, I hear people wanting to see more from our police which cannot be delivered because the resources are given by Whitehall to the Met. If the Home Office stopped wasting billions of pounds on useless and dangerous pet projects, that would be a start; ID Cards and the discriminatory PREVENT agenda are no substitute for effective policing.
‘It is a particular failure of Reading’s outgoing Labour leaders that they have achieved absolutely nothing to tackle this in thirteen years of a Labour Government. Reading needs a fair deal on policing, and has been let down by the Labour Party. We need a fresh start and our police need fair funding – not more demotivating attacks from Gordon Brown and Whitehall.’
