Police set to get massive funding boost in bid to end crime wave sweeping Wild West Britain
Treasury insiders have indicated they are prepared to ramp up spending on Britain's police forces
A VITAL funding package for police to tackle the bloodletting on Britain’s streets is just weeks away, the Home Secretary has signalled.
Sajid Javid said he was “very confident” the Chancellor was listening to huge concerns about violent crime ahead of a critical decision next month on the police settlement for 2019-2020.
It came hours after the Home Secretary risked a backlash from furious cops by demanding the Met “step up” in the war against knife crime.
Treasury insiders separately indicated a deal was on the cards.
A source said: “The Chancellor recognises the pressures placed on police forces.”
A damning report by MPs earlier this week revealed funding for police forces has fallen by a fifth the Coalition came to power. But central government funding has tumbled by 30 per cent.
Other funds have come from a council tax “precept” or top-up.
Shock Home Office figures revealed drug seizures had plunged to a 14 YEAR low last year amid a fall in “Stop and Search”.
Speaking in the US today, Mr Javid told Sky News that it was clear “resource” was part of the issue – and “making sure that police as they deal with more of these complex situations that they have the resource they need”.
He added: “That’s why I welcome the commitment buy the Chancellor just a week ago to sit down with me and discuss what resource is needed for the police. And we have the December settlement just a few weeks away so this is something that can be looked at very, very quickly.”
He said: “What we saw in this Budget was a Chancellor that was listening.
“He listened to the needs of the defence service and health and others and he set out quite rightly that he’s going to listen to the needs of the police.
“So I am very confident that he’s listening.”
Violent crime has soared by nearly 20 per cent over the past year with shock increases in rape, murder and knife attacks.
Outrage erupted yesterday after louts left a 98-year-old pensioner fighting for his life. A “brutal and senseless” attack during a suspected burglary hospitalised Peter Gouldstone, who served in the Royal Corps of Signals during WWII.
THE SUN SAYS: CRIME COPOUT
HOW’S this as an excuse for soft justice?
The Tory “two strikes and you’re out” rule was supposed to mean automatic jail for anyone caught twice with a knife.
But hundreds are still set free by courts ignoring the edict. Now the Tories say “repeat offenders convicted under the ‘two strikes’ rule are 20 per cent more likely to go to prison than in 2015”.
So it’s “two strikes and you’re slightly more likely to be jailed than before”.
No wonder gang members brazenly carry machetes.
It’s not just policing that needs radical change — and we welcome Sajid Javid’s claim that significant new funding is just weeks away.
It’s that our courts must get tougher, as a deterrent and to get murderous thugs off the streets.
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