Javid to ‘prioritise police funding’ to tackle crime increase

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has pledged to increase police funding in order to tackle “increased demand” for police services.

In a speech at the Police Federation’s conference in Birmingham, he said he wanted to “reset” the Government’s relationship with the police, which had been damaged by repeated budget cuts.

Senior police officers blamed these cuts for spiralling retail crime. This includes an 8% increase in shoplifting offences, a 14% spike in robberies in one region's One Stop stores and more than 13,437 violent incidents in convenience stores in the past year alone.

He told police officers at the conference: “We need to think more about the long-term funding of the police. So, my pledge to you is this: I will prioritise police funding in the spending review next year.”

Earlier at the conference, the Police Federation’s chair Calum Macleod criticised Theresa May’s claims that forces were “crying wolf” over funding cuts. “

"Who’s crying now? Let me tell you who – thousands of families who became victims of crime as a result of budget cuts – that’s who,” he said.

Macleod called on Javid to: “Do what is right to ensure we have sufficient numbers, sufficient resources and sufficient funding to help keep the British public safe.”

Javid said the Government was spending £1bn more on policing than three years ago.

He added that £460m of this was raised following a change that allowed police and crime commissioners to increase council tax contributions to local policing budgets.

Read more: New stats show grocery stores bear the brunt of retail crime wave