300 new police officers will join ranks in Hampshire if Conservatives elected, MP says
Shadow home secretary visits new police station with crime commissioner
Around 300 new police officers will join the ranks in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight if the Conservatives get back in power, the shadow home secretary has told The News.
Chris Philp MP was in Hampshire on Thursday to canvas ahead of the local elections on May 7. The MP was joined by crime commissioner Donna Jones who spoke about plans to combat crime.
Speaking outside the newly opened police station in Bishop's Waltham, Mr Philp said the Conservatives plan to hire 10,000 new police officers across the country to “hotspot high crime areas” and “make sure police always investigate leads”, if they win the next General Election. The MP said around 300 of the new officers would be located in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Mr Philp said: “(Ms Jones) has recruited 851 police officers and opened eight new police stations. That shows why it’s so important to elect conservative councillors on May 7 so they can deliver just in the same way Donna’s delivered in the last few years.”
The crime commissioner added: “I wanted to make sure that every single council area had at least one police station with a front counter they could come in to. I have announced three more stations to open over the next year in Gosport, Eastleigh and Alton and am really excited to be delivering them for the public and delivering on my promises.”
Mr Philp went on to criticise the Labour government. He said: “What has labour done? They’ve actually cut police numbers across England and Wales with numbers falling by 1,300 over the last 12 months. I think that is terrible.
“Shoplifting has gone up eight per cent and sexual assaults on women have gone up by 10 per cent. Labour are letting down the public by letting crimes like shoplifting and sexual assaults rise.
“The conservative plan is different. We would hire 10,000 more police officers funded by savings from the welfare budgets and have them patrolling high crime hotspots. Of those around 300 would come to Hampshire.”
Ms Jones said Hampshire has been left with a £2.7m shortfall in funding since the Labour Party came to power with her saying they have cut all PCSOs in some smaller areas across the country in a bid to save money. “They are real time making cuts to police funding and people need to be aware of that,” she said.