Crime across England and Wales has spiralled. Shoplifting has surged by 13 percent, with more than half a million offences committed as high streets are being stripped bare.
Theft from the person is up five percent, while robberies targeting businesses have rocketed by 55 percent, leaving shopkeepers and small traders exposed and unprotected.
Behind closed doors, the picture is even darker. Reports of sexual offences have climbed by nine percent, as well as a six percent rise in rape.
Police have also recorded sharp increases in stalking and harassment, up five and six percent, respectively. These speak to a country where intimidation, coercion and violence against women are once again rising.
They are symptoms of a government that has lost control. And when the balance of fear shifts, when criminals stop fearing the police and start assuming they won’t be caught, that is when order begins to fray.
This is what happens when appeasement replaces leadership.
Earlier this year, we exposed how Labour had gutted the police. Labour inherited a police force at record strength, yet within 12 months, they have dismantled it.
CHRIS PHILP: Keir Starmer does not have the backbone to stand up to his weak team and take the difficult decisions. Now he’s paralysed by his own party, too frightened to face down the soft-Left activists who think criminals are victims and victims are statistics
Theft from the person is up five per cent, while robberies targeting businesses have rocketed by 55 percent, leaving shopkeepers and small traders exposed and unprotected
Labour have already overseen a decrease of 1,316 officers. At the same time, recruitment has collapsed by 17 percent.
Just as crime rises, Labour are pulling officers off the streets. In truth, the Labour Party came into government with no plan because fundamentally, Keir Starmer does not have the backbone to stand up to his weak team and take the difficult decisions.
Now he’s paralysed by his own party, too frightened to face down the soft-Left activists who think criminals are victims and victims are statistics.
When Conservatives were in government, we understood the first duty of the state is protection. We kept our promise to the public and recruited 20,000 extra officers and backed that up with record funding.
We built the strength Labour are now squandering. And we will do it again. At Conservative Party Conference, we announced plans to put strength back where it belongs.
The next Conservative government will recruit 10,000 new police officers as part of a major crackdown on crime.
This new plan, backed by £650million a year, will include the introduction of intense hotspot patrolling of the 2,000 neighbourhoods with the most violent crime.
The focus on hotspot patrolling, a proven method to cut crime, will deliver 8.3million extra patrol hours each year and prevent around 35,000 offences.
Under the next Conservative government, the rate of stop and search will triple, and we will also give the home secretary powers to direct police priorities.
‘Non-crime hate incidents’ will be abolished, saving 60,000 hours a year of police time and protecting free speech.
Crime has consequences – and so does weakness. The Labour Government’s failure to lead has left victims unprotected and criminals emboldened.
The Conservatives will restore order, back our police and make the law mean something again.
