Despite the gaff by Diane Abbott the principal of 10,000 new officers is a good one, unfortunately it’s in the Labour manifesto so it’s not going to happen.
Since 2010 we have lost 20,000 police officers under the Conservative leadership, we are facing increases in crime, particularly violent crime and public order offences.
We used to have officers on the beat on foot in our towns and villages, this type of community policing worked as a visual deterrent and reassured the public of their safety, it was also vital in gathering intelligence that the public would not feel was important enough to phone 101 or 999.
And if this prevents just a small number of crimes being committed, surely this would save some of the costs of investigation, victim support, CPS, Court time and expense.
With regard to cost I honestly don’t know without an in-depth local review of the number of officers required etc, however what price to we place on public safety?