Amber Rudd has told police she does not want to see them “asking for more money” from the Government amid an increase in recorded crime and unprecedented terror threat.
The Home Secretary told senior officers gathered at a summit in London that they need to have a plan to make their local communities safer.
Ms Rudd said being a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) “mustn’t just be about lobbying the Government for money”.
“It needs to be about cutting crime, delivering on the priorities you were elected on and being held to account by local people in your area when you don’t,” she told the APCC and NPCC Partnership Summit in London.
“So when crime stats go up, I don’t just want to see you reaching for a pen to write a press release asking for more money from the Government.
“I want you to tell your local communities and the victims in your area what your plan is to make them safer.”
Ms Rudd spoke after Chief Constable Sara Thornton, chair of the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC), accused the Home Office of underfunding British forces.
She warned that as well as dealing with the increased terror threat, recorded crime is up 13 per cent and police are receiving record levels of 999 calls and growing demand for mental health and public safety.
“The police service is stretched and our staff are feeling it, and the public is beginning to notice it,” she told delegates.
“We have jointly raised this stretch with Home Office ministers and officials. It has become clear that the 2015 settlement of flat cash for forces is unsustainable.
“Forces are being asked to absorb pay rises and inflation pressures, and this is leading to cuts in services. We are particularly concerned that these cuts are undermining crime prevention and proactive police work.”
Ms Thornton warned that while the Crime Survey for England and Wales shows a reduction in crime from a peak in 1995, the offences recorded by police have increased by 13 per cent in the last year.
She said that while some of the rise can be accounted for by a requirement to record more lower-level crime like harassment, there are “worrying signs” of a national increase in violent crime including attacks using knives and guns.
“So could this be the beginning of the end of the great crime decline?” Ms Thornton asked.
“I do not think we can risk viewing this rise in crime as a blip. In the same way that experts have commented that there has been a shift, rather than a spike in the terrorist threat, I think we are seeing a shift, rather than a blip in crime.”
The Metropolitan Police has announced it is stopping investigating some lower-level crimes as it works to save £400m – a figure disputed by the Home Office.
Ms Rudd highlighted programmes to prevent the sale of knives to under 18s online, a crackdown on acid and moves to ensure police feel able to chase moped criminals.
The Home Secretary announced the award of £27.45m in “police transformation” funding to another 10 projects, including £1.9m for the Metropolitan Police to design a single call handling system and centralised control rooms for London’s emergency services.
Another chunk of the fund is going to South Wales police for a project joining up with health and social services to support vulnerable people, including criminals who had traumatic childhoods.
Ms Rudd said “a number” of forces had been asking for additional money but told them “funding need to be based on evidence and not assertion”.
“We appreciate that the increase in complex, investigatory work has put pressure on forces, as well as the efforts to deal with the unprecedented wave of terrorist attacks we’ve sadly seen this year,” the Home Secretary added
“But police financial reserves now amount to more than £1.6bn and the independent inspectorate remains clear that there is more forces can do to transform, with greater efficiencies still available.”
Questioned on concerns that Brexit will make policing more difficult by reducing access to European systems, Ms Rudd stressed that a third-party treaty drawn up by the Government would maintain British involvement in all databases including the SIS and Europol.
She added: “I don’t underestimate the challenge of pulling this together but my initial conversations with European partners have been very positive.
“They say they want this to happen…our participation is keenly looked forward to.
“We’re very committed to making sure that we will continue to keep people safe as we leave the European Union.”
