Towards the end of March 2014, I met with Bob Jones, Labour's West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.
The key issues to come out include:
1. the importance of tailoring police services locally (different areas need a different focus and listening to local police leaders achieves better results). This means a one-size-fits-all approach from central government won't always be the most effective solution;
2. deprived areas in the West Midlands have been hit hardest by disproportionately high cuts compared to more affluent areas, which has led to an increase in crime; and
3. more police on the ground can prevent crime from happening in the first place; making high police numbers a sensible and forward looking investment. This therefore leads us to ask, why again is this Tory-led government cutting police numbers in a short term cost saving measure that will cost us all more in the long run?
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