— Tackling crime and ASB – anti-social behaviour —
By investing in local policing in our villages, towns and cities – and targeting neighbourhood crimes such as burglary.
Part one of Darryl Preston’s six-point plan to continue #WeCutCrime in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Tackling crime and anti-social behaviour...
...and thereby the fear of crime, must be the priority for the police.
It’s certainly my priority, which is why I launched #WeCutCrime as my campaign theme to highlight the importance of reducing crime rather than only reacting afterwards.
From 1985 to 2015 I was a serving police officer – first in uniform in the Met and, from 1998, in Cambridgeshire, becoming a detective.
Most of my time as a police officer, both in uniformed and detective roles, was spent fighting crime, from theft to homicide. I recall at my initial interview being asked ‘why do you want to join the police?’. I replied: ‘I want to catch criminals, help victims and keep people safe.’
My motivation for wanting to continue to be your Police and Crime Commissioner remains the same.
Neighbourhood crime is down
Neighbourhood and rural is crime is down by over 20% on my watch. This is good news, and if re-elected my number one priority will be to see crime continues to be tackled, here in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It is the best way of keeping people safe.
From my experience I know the key to reducing crime is to have more police officers – more boots on the ground, frontline and detectives – to deter, detect and prevent. This is far more effective than just responding to one reported crime after another.
Record police numbers
And that is why I have secured record police numbers, with 400 more warranted police officers compared to 2015.*
There is more that can be done
The police spend far too much time dealing with matters that are not crime related.
They are often used as ‘the emergency service of last resort’, dealing with issues such as mental health and social care, things that, frankly, other agencies should be dealing with.
I know this because I have first-hand experience of managing mentally unwell people in police cells – this is simply not right. Those suffering from mental health should be dealt with by health professionals, leaving the police to fight crime.
As we grow, so should the police force
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough continues to be one of the fastest growing areas in the country with an expected population growth of a further 25% by 2031.*
Unfortunately, the formula to allocate the central grant to our county for policing is archaic and unfair, which successive governments have failed to address.
Cambridgeshire constabulary gets a bad deal: the constabulary makes up about 1% of the national police spend and according to the force, we lose out by about £6m a year.
That would pay for at least 200 new officers, reducing crime and keeping us safe everywhere.
Policing for your priorities
Having spoken to local residents and police all over our county, I am very aware our local communities have differing crime priorities.
Some crimes, such as house burglary – an abhorrent crime – and vehicle offences are, unfortunately, felt in all areas; other crimes, including agricultural theft and hare coursing, impact more on our rural areas.
And in our towns and cities, anti-social behaviour, robbery, drugs, knife crime and serious violence are all too common.
But crime is crime, whether inflicted on an individual or a business.
Stealing from shops, violence and intimidation of staff and many other ‘business crime’ types are totally unacceptable.
If re-elected I would recognise this in setting strategic priorities with the Chief Constable.
I will also be setting local priorities by listening to local communities and acting on your concerns.
If re-elected I will...
1. Continue to invest in local visible policing to further tackle crime and ASB.
2. Continue to work with our MPs to get a fairer central government policing grant paying for even more police officers.
3. Continue to hold the Chief Constable to account for reducing overall crime and ASB in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
4. Continue to listen to local communities and set local crime fighting priorities.
5. Continue to work with local businesses and partners to reduce business crime.
6. Continue to ensure tackling rural crime remains a priority and continue to work with rural communities and the NFU and invest in Countryside Watch.
7. Continue to work with partners to ensure the police only have to deal with policing matters.
8. Continue to cut bureaucracy and work with government to ensure the police have more time to prevent and solve crimes.
9. Continue to back our police, keeping their high standards and ensuring they have the skills and confidence to keep us safe.
* Sources
Delivery of the Police and Crime Plan – report, 13th March 2024.
10 year Cambridgeshire population growth.
Darryl Preston is the Conservative candidate in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Police and Crime Commissioner election on 2nd May 2024. There's more about Darryl on the About Darryl Preston page.