THE LEADER of Bromsgrove Labour Goup who stood against MP, and now Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, at the last election says he is sceptical about the promises made at this week’s Police Federation Conference in Birmingham.
Coun Michael Thompson said: “If he is going to fund more police and more frontline police then I welcome that but it is the exact opposite to what his Government has done in the last ten years.
“It was Labour promising more police and more frontline police officers.
“I was contacted by a resident the other day who said he felt the crime in between Charford and Rock Hill was the worst it had ever been.
“We need more police on the beat and more CCTV.
“A lot of my residents talk about increases in crime and anti-social behaviour and I would like to invite him (Mr Javid) to come and walk around Charford with me and talk to people in the area.”
Mr Javid spoke to The Standard this week about his commitment to protecting residents across Bromsgrove district.
“With my own brother serving in West Midlands Police, I know frontline policing is key to keeping Bromsgrove safe.
“I will always give our police the tools they need to get the job done and I am grateful to them for doing the great job that they do.”
At the conference he told officers and staff he was not arrogant enough to turn up after three weeks in his new job and tell officers how to do theirs.
“What I will say is that I am listening and I get it. I get that there’s increased demand,” he said during his speech.
He admitted there had been difficult decisions taken since 2010, accepting the long-term funding of the police needed a lot of thought.
And he pledged to prioritise police funding in next year’s spending review of all Government departments.
• WHAT do you think about crime in Bromsgrove district? Have you seen increases in your area? What should be done to combat it? Email your views to [email protected] or write to the address on page ten.
