Cuts under Conservative-led governments have had a negative effect upon policing, the organisation representing senior officers has said, in a rebuff to claims that forces are focusing on “woke” causes.
The National Police Chiefs Council said in a statement that crime detection and charge rates had dropped following austerity measures and a fall in police numbers since 2010.
It comes after a report by the right-leaning thinktank Policy Exchange, which said on Tuesday that public confidence could be damaged if police showed solidarity against discrimination or expressed political views.
A National Police Chiefs Council spokesperson said: “Detection and charge rates for a range of crimes have fallen over the past five years.
“This has been impacted by austerity and the loss of thousands of police officers and staff, increasing complexity of policing and crime, growing demand related to mental ill health and impact of backlogs in the court system.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/31/police-chiefs-blame-tory-cuts-for-fall-in-detection-and-charge-rates