Police numbers fall to lowest level in THIRTY YEARS – sparking doubts cops could cope with another terror attack
Police officer numbers have fallen to the lowest level in more than three decades - sparking fresh doubts over Britain’s readiness to react to another terror attack.
Official figures reveal there were 123,142 officers across all ranks in England and Wales at the end of March this year - a fall of 0.7 per cent and the lowest number since 1985.
The fall comes despite Britain being hit with three terror attacks in three months, rising knife crime, the alarming emergence of acid attacks and a spike in online fraud.
And separate data revealed that police recorded the largest annual rise in crime in a decade.
The Government said the rise in the number of violent offences recorded by police is due to better reporting by forces.
When other personnel such as PCSOs and civilian staff are included, the total workforce employed by the 43 forces in England and Wales stood at 198,684 at the end of March.
This is the lowest number in the police workforce since March 2003.
Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said the figures exposed how “overstretched” the police were after the Government’s 20,000 cuts to police numbers since 2010.
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Police staffing levels have come under the spotlight in recent months as Britain was hit by a flurry of terrorist attacks.
Hundreds of officers have been assigned to counter-terror investigations as security services confront an unprecedented threat.
Forces around the country have recorded rises in offences including knife crime, and are attempting to combat the activities of fraudsters and cyber criminals.
In addition, Scotland Yard is mounting a huge investigation into the Grenfell tower tragedy.
Policing minister Nick Hurd said the Government was working hard to “get ahead of new and emerging threats”.
He said: “We will continue our work to ensure that police have the resources, the training and the powers they need to protect all victims from harm and bring offenders to justice.”
Meanwhile, the number of anti-terror orders imposed on suspects who cannot be deported or prosecuted has fallen to six.
Figures show the count of Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (Tpims) in force at the end of May was down by one compared with three months earlier.
The disclosure of the dip follows calls for a boost in the use of the powers in the context of the terror threat facing the UK.
New figures published by the Home Office show the position on Tpims just after the Manchester bombing, the second in a flurry of attacks to hit Britain this year.
The measures, which replaced more draconian control orders in 2011, are used in cases where someone who is deemed to pose a threat to security cannot be prosecuted, or in the case of foreign nationals, deported.