Chairman
of Lewisham West & Penge Conservatives, Thomas Turrell, has welcomed news
that police in London will receive an extra £191.2m to tackle crime and keep our streets safe – an
increase of 8.1% from last year.
The
Conservatives have announced an increase of up to £1.1 billion for police
forces throughout England and Wales, to ensure our police can focus on keeping
communities safe.
It
comes on top of the Conservatives’ plan to recruit an extra 20,000 police
officers, along with ensuring they have more powers and better kit. London is
already set to receive an additional 1,369 officers this year, with more to
come in the future.
As
a result, overall police funding is set to increase by the biggest amount in a
decade. This will see more money available to recruit, train and equip police
officers, as well as investment in national priorities like tackling serious
and organised crime, and our counter-terrorism capabilities.
Thomas
urged Labour MPs to vote in favour of this much-needed funding settlement when
it comes before Parliament. The Labour Party voted against a similar settlement
for the police last year, which would have denied forces an additional £970
million.
Commenting, Thomas said:
“I
am delighted that police funding in London could increase by up to £191.2m next
year.
“We
made a commitment to people at the election that we would crack down on crime
and back our brave police to get on with the job, and we are wasting no time in
delivering on that promise now.
“The
Conservative Party will always ensure that the police have the powers and
resources needed to keep our citizens and communities safe.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel
said:
“This
Government is delivering on the people’s priorities by giving policing the
biggest funding increase in a decade.
“It
will mean more officers tackling the crime blighting our streets, so people can
feel safe in their communities.
“The
police must now make full use of this significant investment to deliver for the
public.”