Harlow will be “less safe” due to Labour Government funding shortfall to Harlow police says council leader
Crime / Tue 28th Jan 2025 at 07:45pm
HARLOW Council’s Leader, Cllr Dan Swords, has issued a blistering attack on the Government about the funding shortfall for Essex Police announced today.
One of Harlow Council’s six missions is to “Protect Our Communities”. To that end, the council has installed hundreds of new CCTV cameras around the town including in every underpass, bolstered it’s Community Safety Team, significantly increased active patrolling with targeted operations in areas like The Stow and the town centre and created a joint Community Safety Hub with the Police which acts a central hub to direct activity across the town.
According to Essex Police, overall crime in Harlow fell by 14% in 2024 which the council says is a “huge success” whilst acknowledging there is still “so so much more to do”.
When the last Government left office in July, Essex Police had more police officers than at any time in its history.
However, a £12.5 million shortfall in the funding from the new Labour Government this year to Essex Police means that:
All Police Community Support Officers in Harlow will be made redundant
The front desk at Harlow police station will close
Harlow’s police officers will face a pay cut
The Harlow Council Leader has responded to the news. Cllr Dan Swords said: “We are on a mission to protect our communities, and working in lockstep with our local police force, we are in part succeeding. Crime was cut by 14% in 2024 in Harlow. That is thousands fewer residents falling victim to crime. But we know there is so so much more to do. Far too many residents still feel unsafe and are suffering anti-social behaviour and crime.
“But this news today is a hammer blow to that work. This funding announcement literally will make Harlow less safe. It will take officers off our streets – that is a direct contradiction to what this Government promised and I know that thousands of residents will share my concern.
“I implore the Government to reverse this decision. They spent so many years in opposition promising to increase investment to the police, but instead they have delivered a budget shortfall which will have very real effects on our town.
“We will do all we can to fight this decision and to continue our work to protect our communities and support the police in every way we can.”
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Tuesday Evening:
Harlow MP Chris Vince hopes to give us a statement on Wednesday
Leader of Harlow Labour, Cllr James Griggs has yet to respond.
Ian T
2025-01-28 20:22:19
Be interested in our MP’s support of the Labour lies.
AB
2025-01-28 20:53:59
14 years of 'austerity' cuts by a Tory government have left the Labour government with little room for financial manoeuvre. It's a bit rich of Demolition Dan to criticise the current government that's trying to pick up the pieces.
Mike
2025-01-28 21:14:54
Apparently Essex Police's funding for 2025-26 is £431.1m, which is an increase of £24.9m compared to what they received in 2024-25. I rather think that Roger Hirst (Conservative Police Commissioner) and Dan Swords are both playing political games.
Nancy
2025-01-28 21:21:45
He is standing there in the middle of a wasteland of his own making. Is he going to tell us that shoplifting has dropped under the Tories, since they got rid of all the shops?
Seamus
2025-01-29 03:02:39
"Harlow MP Chris Vince hopes to give us a statement on Wednesday. Leader of Harlow Labour, Cllr James Griggs has yet to respond". How do they respond? The local councillors must be embarrased to the point that they must question if the Labour party now, is the same Labour party they joined?. As for our mp, his voting record says it all. At every vote he has backed the government instead of the people of Harlow who he is supposed to represent.
David Forman
2025-01-29 07:38:39
Mike is correct in his overall funding figures which is backed up by an answer to a parliamentary question from Basildon Reform MP James McMurdock on December 9 last year. However, the fly in the ointment is assumed cost savings of £8million and inflation. The other pressure is an ageing police estate and costs of maintaining it. In an ITVx article Roger Hirst said the government settlement “is not enough to meet pay and inflationary pressures”. Some of the pay issue is a leftover from the previous years pay settlement, but what that actually is isn't made clear in any news article I have seen. Maybe, the Editor can ask Mr Hurst. See ITVx at https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2025-01-28/essex-police-plans-to-sack-all-pcsos-over-funding-fears
David Forman
2025-01-29 07:46:36
YourHarlow' article yesterday on this topic had a paragraph that highlighted a catch in the funding settlement: "Mr Hirst said the Home Office did not confirm until January 21 that there would be no flexibility in the funding settlement and that if it reduced police officer headcount by more than 57, it would lose £7.9 million of ringfenced funding from The Police Uplift Programme (PUP)."
JRR
2025-01-29 10:28:47
Only one thing evident there then which undoubtedly will happen. "CRIME" will go up & way past the prediction of 2024 of 14%. We have little or next to none of police which comes as no surprise as there are very few police anyway. All the crimes possible will be easier for the the louts out there, it will become their paradise even more than it is now. Public are in the wrong if they take matters into their own hands so it's looking like a real minefield of crime. Labour has come in with so many lies of this that & the other, Keir Stamer is weak without he's sidekick Rachel Reeves & she needs to give her resignation. She is not liked for what she is doing it's all about taking every penny we have. It wasn't that long ago that an item of news said council tax was going up & that part of it was to support the police. So as there would be more policing now your telling us something completely different. As for Dan Swords please take a real good look at him!! Everything he says everything he touches is a complete mess, he stands there thinking he has control when in fact he has no control of this town, all he's done is demolish it. He also talks about how crime has gone down & that he himself made that happen. He lives in he's own little world of lies & definitely not reality. He should not be head of Our Council. What the hell is happening to this world we all be fighting one & other to hold on to what we do have left. It's all heading towards world war 3.
geoff turner
2025-01-29 11:00:23
easy answer ?? stop sending money abroad and stop giving out benefits to any tom dick or harry that turns up
Jake
2025-01-29 12:33:17
Harlow is a wonderful town, but why is labour such a bunch of imbeciles? I didn't vote because it was obvious they just are greedy like everyone else even the representatives, they just do what is right for there own pockets but not for the community and 50 years ago harlow was a community, with people in parliament who cared. now its just false promises everytime, should of just kept Sunak in.
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