Met Police Chief Warns: Ambitious Crime Cuts Need Matching Investment

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Met Police Chief Warns: Ambitious Crime Cuts Need Matching Investment

 

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has warned that the UK government’s ambitious pledges to reduce crime cannot be achieved without significant increases in funding. In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sir Mark acknowledged the strength of the new government's commitment to halving knife crime and violence against women and girls, as well as improving neighbourhood policing. However, he cautioned that "ambition and money go alongside each other."

 

While praising what he called the government’s “great ambition,” Sir Mark made it clear that police forces across the UK are still grappling with the long-term consequences of years of austerity. "We want to do all the things the government committed to a year ago," he said. "We cannot do that without more money as well."

 

The current administration, led by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, has made crime reduction a top priority. Last month, the Prime Minister announced the recruitment of 2,500 neighbourhood police officers and nearly 400 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) over the next 12 months. This is part of a broader effort to hire 13,000 officers by 2029. The Home Office echoed the commitment, saying it is "backing the police to protect our communities and keep our streets safe."

 

But according to Sir Mark, the reality on the ground is more complex. "Police forces are much smaller when you compare the population they're policing than they were a decade or 15 years ago," he said, pointing to the cuts imposed during the austerity years under previous governments. He highlighted that police forces are still recovering from that period and continue to operate under strained conditions.

 

Sir Mark, along with five other senior police leaders, recently expressed their concerns in a letter to The Times, warning that years of underinvestment have left police departments overstretched and reliant on "broken" infrastructure and "outdated" technology. The letter cautioned that failure to inject new funding would "bake in the structural inefficiencies" of police forces for another three years and put necessary reforms at risk.

 

"Police chiefs are more joined up than they've ever been before about the need for wholescale policing reform," Sir Mark said. He also outlined the increasing scope of modern policing, citing not just traditional crime but also new and evolving threats such as global cybercrime, online exploitation, and episodes of social unrest like last summer’s riots.

 

Another pressing issue for the police is the recent emergency release of prisoners to alleviate overcrowding in the UK’s prison system. The Met chief noted that these releases are already placing new demands on police resources. "A proportion of them will commit crime [and] a proportion of them will need chasing down by the police," he explained.

 

As the country approaches the next spending review, Sir Mark’s message is clear: without a serious financial commitment, even the most ambitious crime-cutting goals will be difficult—if not impossible—to achieve.

 

Related Topic:

Top Police, Security Chiefs & MI5 Warn Early Prison Releases Could Jeopardize Public Safety

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC  2025-05-29

 

 

[JonnyF]

Is that the guy out of Bronski Beat? 

 

Anyway, more money for what?

 

Investigating non crime hate incidents?

 

Sending officer to harrass the public for rude tweets/WhatsApp mesages?

 

Dancing/taking the knee at the LGBTQ++ parades?

 

Threatening arrest for being "openly Jewish"?

 

Paying officers to sing "Free Free Palestine"? 

 

Do me a favour.