John Battle MP Welcomes Drop In Crime

John welcomed West Yorkshire Police’s latest figures, showing crime fell by 19% - 62,000 fewer victims of crime.

“This is very good news,” said the MP. “We have more police officers and a much stronger focus on neighbourhood policing, and I’m glad it’s paying off. Many local people tell me how much they welcome the increased police presence on our streets in West Leeds.

“It’s not just the crime statistics that are falling – the British Crime Survey, which picks up crimes not reported to the police, also tells us that people are experiencing less crime and feeling safer.

“We do have many dedicated police officers on the ground doing an excellent job, and I will continue to press them to do even better locally.”

West Yorkshire Police had the greatest fall in crime of all 43 police forces nationally, with 11,000 fewer victims of house burglary (a 37% fall), a 28% reduction in vehicles stolen, 32% fewer thefts from vehicles, and a 5.7% drop in violent crime.

“We’ve had big debates in recent years about whether it would be worth increasing Council Tax to pay for more police,” added John Battle. “Talking to people in West Leeds it was clear that most people thought it would be worth it, and now they’ve been proved right.”

©John Battle MP 13 June 2005

Related Articles

Internet Links