Liberal Democrats have responded fiercely to the prospect of beat patrol cuts as a result of potential further reduction in government cash to Merseyside police.
Southport Councillor Tony Dawson, deputy leader of Sefton MBC Lib Dems, says:
I have already put onto the streets of central Southport a ‘FOCUS petition’ on this issue. This was written before the latest statement of concern from local police chiefs.”
“George Osborne seems impervious to the effect which further police cutbacks may have upon the safety of our local communities. I hope that local people will tell him that “enough is enough.”
“We can argue as to whether existing cutbacks have already been too severe: these have clearly placed the local police force in a position where there are some things that the public feels they are not addressing properly. They had to admit, for example, that they could not deal with antisocial behaviour at the Orangemen’s march in Southport because they just would not have sufficient numbers of officers on the ground.”
“The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) made it plain to the Home Secretary last month that there are limits to the additional cuts which police forces can absorb without the collapse of certain elements of the service. They have warned that cutting forces’ central grants by more than a quarter by 2020 might mean the traditional bobby on the beat could disappear completely in some areas.”
“Cutting out CPSOs altogether is another awful way of dealing with the same problem. Neither is acceptable.”
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