Member of Parliament for Birmingham Selly Oak, Steve McCabe, said today he is not surprised by the announcement that crime is rising.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that recorded crime has risen by 14% in the last year, with violent crime rising by 20%. The figures also show a worrying rise in knife and gun related crime, which supports figures released last year which reported that possession of a weapon offences had increased by 19% in the West Midlands.
In October 2017 Steve held a debate on the issue of rising crime in Parliament after his office was inundated with complaints about burglaries, muggings, car jackings and aggressive anti-social behaviour. Steve called on the Government to acknowledge that crime was rising and take robust action to tackle the problem.
Steve said:
“I’m sad to say that I am not remotely surprised by the figures released today. It is no coincidence that crime is rising while police budgets are being slashed by the Government and, as a result, we have 2000 fewer officers on our streets in the West Midlands. The Government is in complete denial about the scale of the problem and these figures reveal just how urgently they need to address the shortfall in police funding and problems surrounding community safety. We need more police urgently, the speeding up of the justice process instead of court closures, realistic sentences and a real determination to tackle anti-social behaviour. The Government has lost the plot when it comes to tackling crime.”
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