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Tory cuts to police compromise the security of us all
The continuous cuts to police numbers and their budgets is causing long-term damage to morale and effectiveness, writes DIANE ABBOTT
A street patrol in Birmingham city centre

RECENT ONS crime data statistics are an indictment of this Conservative government’s policies when it comes to keeping our communities safe and secure, showing that police recorded crime is up 14 per cent — the highest annual rise since 1992, with knife crime up by 21 per cent and gun crime by 20 per cent.

These figures are truly shocking and show that that the Tories are failing in a basic duty to protect the public – with the types of crimes that concern the public the most all soaring.

Since 2010 the Tories have again and again broken their pledge to protect police funding, and these recent figures should have put an end to government complacency on crime.

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