A local MP has urged Home Secretary Theresa May to rethink more police cuts after fears it could leave Greater Manchester Police unable to deal with gun and gang violence in Salford.
Speaking in a Westminster debate Worsley and Eccles South MP Barbara Keeley raised concerns about the rise in gang-related gun crime in Salford and the impact that further police cuts could have on tackling organised crime in the area.
The force could be facing an extra reduction of between £53m and £75m under changes to the government’s Police Allocation Formula (PAF).
It would lose anywhere between 1,060 and 1,560 officers if cuts of this scale went ahead.
Since 2010 the government has slashed £175 million from Greater Manchester’s policing budget with the loss of over 1,500 officers.
Greater Manchester Police’s current budget is £542m – made up of £106m from council tax, and £436m from the PAF.
Speaking to SalfordOnline.com, the new Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Ian Hopkins said: “When I arrived in 2008 we had 8,200 officers.
“By 31 March 2019 we’ll have just 5,000, and that’s before I know what the Comprehensive Spending Review is going to say on 25 November.
“The nature of policing has got to change because of the level of resources we’re being given.
“People will have to accept that there will be more online reporting, tracking of your crime but in order to keep people safe we have to focus on the most serious offences.”
Home Secretary Theresa May
In the last 18 months there have been 21 confirmed shootings in the city, with the high-profile murder of Paul Massey, attacks on homes and properties in Little Hulton, Walkden, Swinton and Salford, and severe injuries to at least six men, a seven-year-old boy and his mother.
More than 50 specialist officers were dedicated to tackling the problem, with the help of the National Crime Agency- dubbed ‘Britain’s FBI’.
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“These cuts to police numbers are leaving Greater Manchester Police overstretched and without the support needed to deal with the gang violence and shootings we have seen in Salford,” said Keeley.
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“I am deeply concerned about the impact any further reduction in police numbers could have on my constituents.
“In Salford we have seen a frightening escalation of gun crime. These attacks are sickening. I want the police to have the resources they need to keep our communities safe, as local people do.”
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“I have called on the Home Secretary to think again before forcing any further cuts on to Greater Manchester Police,” the MP added.
The call comes as seven police and crime commissioners – a position created by the Home Secretary in 2012 – threaten legal action against the government for ‘deeply flawed’ plans that will see millions slashed from forces already rocked by spending cuts.
