
Wednesday will see our battered Chancellor take to her feet to outline future budgets for all government departments in her latest Spending Review. will no doubt be glad when the day is done. All eyes will be on the areas that she has cut to save cash. Concerns have been raised about a reduction in police spending with senior officers across the country sounding the alarm that any drop in funding would impact on frontline services. A letter from senior chiefs to the Prime Minister warned: "A settlement that fails to address our inflation and pay pressures would entail stark choices about which crimes we no longer prioritise."
These words should send a shudder through any law-abiding taxpayer as it indicates that unless there is adequate funding for the police in the future, crimes would simply be ignored or not investigated. I know I am not alone when I express my growing anger and frustration about what feels like an increasingly lawless country.
Everyday I see examples of anti-social behaviour by those who have zero respect for the law or their fellow human beings. They make life miserable for people as they know they will not be challenged or face any consequences of their actions.
The scourge of shoplifting is off the scale too. My local Co-op store has taken to putting packets of sausages in a Perspex box with a GPS tracker attached to try and deter folk from nicking the bangers. It is absurd.
But I have seen people stride into shops, take what they want off the shelves and blithely stroll out. Staff have been told not to tackle them for their own safety, so the crime gets repeated frequently by those who feel they have complete impunity. We should not have to put up with this and I bet you have witnessed similar incidents too.
Policing budgets fall under the remit of Home Secretary . Reports indicate that negotiations between the Home Office and the Treasury have not been going well, hence the letter from senior police chiefs to the Prime Minister.
Rachel Reeves finds herself in a tough place though it is hard to find a shred of sympathy given her handling of the economy to date and some of the outrageous and highly damaging anti-business measures she introduced in her first budget.
She needs to save money and rein in public spending as the UK's borrowing is out of control. The figures are eye-watering. Public sector debt as a percentage of our country's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is over 100%.
The debt interest alone on our borrowing tops £105billion a year. This is simply unsustainable for any government and pruning public sector spending is the right thing to do, but it should not impact on the hardworking taxpayers who just want to feel safe walking the streets or not experience low level crime that blights their daily lives.
The concern is that if police spending is cut then such crimes will only increase as there will not be the resources to tackle them.
Add to this the very real fear that the government's early release scheme of all kinds of criminals to free up prison spaces represents a threat to public safety, then it is clear a lack of future police resources would put the British people at greater risk.
Health, education and defence are the government departments that are protected from any spending cuts. These areas will no doubt see spending increases to cover growing demands.
Greater defence spending has rightly been in the spotlight recently as we come to terms with a new geo-political situation that sees an increasingly hostile Russia and China - alongside the USA who have made it abundantly clear that we cannot rely on any so-called 'special relationship' should we need them. Police spending should also be protected.
If Labour wants to save cash, it should look at its net zero obsession which is far from a priority for voters. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband seems rather excessive when it comes to flexing the nation's credit card. The Government should also review spending on certain transport infrastructure projects.
New trams in various parts of the country might seem like a cute vote grabbing gimmick, but I suspect voters would rather show their gratitude to the government if they saw more police visibility and a proper cracking down on crime. Rachel Reeves will not be forgiven by hardworking police officers, their bosses or the electorate if she cuts police spending on Wednesday.
Any decision to do so would be short-sighted and an utter insult to law-abiding taxpayers.
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