EDITORIAL COMMENT: Public safety is paramount (From South Wales Argus)

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Public safety is paramount

11:07am Friday 27th January 2012 in Gwent news By South Wales Argus

IT IS WORRYING that the number of police officers is now at its lowest level in ten years.

According to the latest figures there are now 6,000 fewer officers in Wales and England and 9,000 fewer police staff.

Yesterday Gloucestershire chief constable Tony Melville became one of the most senior officers to speak out against the government’s budget cuts warning that his force was “on a metaphorical cliff edge”.

Last year Gwent’s chief constable Carmel Napier warned of tough times ahead as forces looked for cuts.

There is no doubt that government cuts to the public sector are biting deep.

However, this must not be at the risk of public safety.

Of course, the quality of policing is not measured on officer numbers alone.

Some point to the fact that some of the best forces have twice the visibility and availability of those at the bottom of the table and therefore spending isn’t the sole issue.

But severe cuts are bound to have an effect on front-line policing. After all, how can a good level of service be achieved with thousands fewer officers?

Police forces up and down the country are having to rethink the way they provide services as a result of budget constraints.

We should be cutting crime, not the police.