Crime Survey Statistics Support Lib Dem Calls for More Officers (Leeds Liberal Democrats)

Leeds Liberal Democrats <info@leedslibdems.org.uk>

Crime Survey Statistics Support Lib Dem Calls for More Officers

July 17, 2003 12:00 AM

The fact that West Yorkshire, alongside London, has the highest level of burglary and car crime in the country shows just how important it is that more Officers are recruited for Leeds.

Cllr Alan Taylor (Lib Dem, Harehills) said "It's blatantly obvious that we need more Officers on the beat in Harehills and the surrounding neighbourhoods. I'd prefer to see full Police Officers, but if we can't have them, then Community Support Officers like the ones doing such a good job in the City Centre would be more than welcome."

Cllr David Morton (Lib Dem, Headingley), member of the West Yorkshire Police Authority (WYPA) said "We've been calling for Government Funding to recruit more Officers for a long time now, with only partial success. What makes things worse in my opinion is the fact that there was a perfect opportunity in Council on 16th July to improve the situation. However, the Labour Group voted against our proposals to work with WYPA to match fund as many as 50 extra Police Community Support Officers. These would have been deployed right across Leeds, not just in the city centre, and I'm sure they would have made a real impact on the level of domestic burglaries and car crime."

"The number of burglaries in Leeds rose last year, and we've now got some of the highest levels in the country. It's high time the Council stopped being complacent and accepted the need for more officers".