Lib Dems: Reverse cuts to Cumbria Police

Lib Dems across Cumbria are calling on the government to reverse cuts to Cumbria's Police Force. South Lakes MP Tim Farron has tabled a parliamentary motion urging the Government to rethink its decision to slash Cumbria Police officers and staff by 4% last year.

Figures released last week show that 69 police officers and staff have been slashed from Cumbria Police's front line in the last year. The number of police officers has fallen by 26 over the last year, to 1102. The number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) has fallen from 93 to 84, designated officers to 28, and Police support staff have been cut by almost 6%, falling by 33 to 543.

Changes to the police funding formula first proposed in 2015, which could have seen Cumbria Police lose around £15million, were scrapped when it came to light that there were errors in the government's data. However, the government plans to bring back these changes to the formula.

Tim said: "The government cannot continue to chip away at frontline police staff and not expect it to have an impact on our communities. The government should reverse the damaging cuts that have already taken place, rather than looking to cut even more through changes to the funding formula.

"Our region's unique geographical situation is being overlooked by politicians in Whitehall, whose cuts have left ever fewer police officers covering a vast rural area. I want to make Ministers aware of the concerns I hear every day from constituents about keeping our communities safe. These cuts don't just put our communities at risk, they are bad for morale in the police force."

Rebecca Hanson, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Copeland, added:

"Local residents need to feel safe, and to have confidence in the police's ability to tackle crime in Cumbria. The bottom line is that our police force simply cannot withstand more and more cuts, year on year. It is the safety of towns and villages across our county that is put at risk. I will campaign alongside Liberal Democrats across the county to oppose government plans to cut ever more funding from our police force."