Why I am campaigning for more police officers in South Cambridgeshire
South Cambs has experienced rapid growth, but the number of police hasn’t kept pace. Rapidly growing communities such as Cambourne don’t have the police cover they deserve, leaving residents concerned about crime. In more rural areas, villagers and farmers often feel the police are just too overstretched to be able to offer help in their time of need.
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has done a brilliant job pushing up police numbers across the county, from 1326 when he started to 1496 - a record high. But the growing population means we need more. The Conservative government is recruiting an extra 20,000 police across the country. It is imperative that South Cambridgeshire gets its fair share. It is also important that police are visible – out on the beat – which deters criminals and reassures residents.
So far, I have
- Questioned the Home Office Minister responsible for policing, Kit Malthouse, in the House of Commons
- Met with successive Police and Crime Commissioners to raise concerns and support their efforts
- Written to and met with the Home Secretary to discuss police funding in Cambridgeshire
- Invited the Police and Crime Commissioner to visit South Cambridgeshire to aid our discussions
Campaign success
Since I began this campaign, we have seen Cambridgeshire will benefit from a record number of new officers being recruited, and additional funding of more than £20m to aid in both recruitment and training of new officers. At last count, nearly 200 additional officers have been recruited and are being deployed across Cambridgeshire.