In 2019, Nickie Aiken, Member of Parliament for the Cities of London & Westminster, stood on a pledge to recruit 20,000 new police officers across the country.
In the House of Commons, Nickie welcomed the Government's news that it has reached its pledge, with 20,000 extra police officers recruited across the country, including 3,666 for London.
Speaking in the House of Commons with Minister for Policing, Chris Philp MP, Nickie said,
"From the thousands of responses I received from my local crime survey in Westminster, the people’s priority was clear: they want to see more police on the street. I therefore welcome the Government’s announcement today that we have now reached our 20,000 target. Does the Minister agree that, to ensure that people feel safer in their neighbourhoods and that we prevent crime, it is important that we see more police on the beat?"
Chris Philp MP replied,
"Yes, I entirely agree. It is important that we see more police on the beat and more criminals getting prosecuted. In addition to hiring all those police officers to deliver a record number, we are trying to remove some of the burdens that have prevented police from spending their time fighting crime. For example, we changed the Home Office counting rules recently to reduce the amount of time spent on unnecessary administration. We are looking, with the Department of Health and Social Care, at how we can ensure the police do not spend time essentially with mental health patients, who would be better treated by the health service. We are absolutely focused on getting those police on the street, where our constituents can see them."
Live in the City? Shape Nickie's Plan to Make the City of London Safer and tell her your priorities for the police at https://www.nickie.news/SaferStreetsCoL
Read Nickie's Plan to Make Westminster Safer at https://www.nickie.news/MyCrimePlan
