Plans For 100 New Police Officers Scrapped

Plans for 100 new police officers across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland have been scrapped.

It was budgeted for by the previous Police and Crime Commissoner Lord Willy Bach, but Rupert Matthews, who replaced him last year, says the increase is ‘unsustainable’ in the longer term, as it used cash from reserves.

Rupert Matthews outside Market Harborough :Police Station

The decision was taken yesterday as part of a new financial plan, which also confirmed an increase in the amount residents pay for policing in council tax.

Mr Matthews defended not going ahead with the extra officers:

Lord Bach has expressed his sadness and disappointment at the decision, saying: “It can be unbecoming for someone leaving any job to throw stones at the performance of their successor, and I was keen to give Mr Matthews the benefit of the doubt.

“He deserved a chance to show that he puts the safety of local communities at the top of his priority list, but sadly he’s fallen at the first hurdle.

“I have held my tongue about many of the strange decisions taken by Mr Matthews, but this one is a step too far. From city and county alike, the message in my inbox is unchanged. People want to see more police on the streets. I worked to fulfil this expectation from day one and left office with a viable plan in place to restore police numbers and rebuild public confidence after a decade of central government cuts.”

Residents across Harborough will be paying more for Policing from April. 

The charge in Council Tax bills will rise by £10 for a Band D home – taking the yearly cost to just over £258.

Mr Matthews, says the rise will help towards improving local and rural policing, as his annual budget of £223.2m was approved.