Police – Saddleworth Liberal Democrats

21Feb 2023 by Sam Al-Hamdani

“Burnhams’ broken promise” slammed as PCSO numbers drop by 39% across Greater Manchester since 2015

Borough news

Leader of Oldham Councils’ Liberal Democrat Opposition councillor Howard Sykes MBE has hit out at Labour’s Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham after government figures confirm that Greater Manchester has 112 fewer Community Support Officers than in 2017, when Mr Burnham took office. Councillor Sykes said, “When it comes to policing in Oldham and across Greater Manchester, the buck stops with Mayor Burnham. He is ultimately responsible for policing. He has promised a PCSO for every ward in Greater Manchester, and he has failed spectacularly.” The Conservative government has a target to deliver 20,000 new police officers by 2023. But analysis of Home Office data commissioned by the Liberal Democrats reveals that Greater Manchester PCSO numbers have fallen by 316 since 2015, a reduction of 39.3%. Councillor Sykes said, “Far from more…

20Dec 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Outrage as outgoing Deputy Mayor gets specially created job

Borough news

It has been revealed that recently resigned Deputy Mayor Beverley Hughes is to get six months extra part-time work in a new “assistant deputy mayor” position, but which carries exactly the same pay (pro-rata) as the deputy mayor. Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “It’s one thing to have a good handover; it’s quite another to hand someone an ‘assistant’ role – on exactly the same wages as the full role – for six months. “This will simply be reviewed in six months’ time. Really? “If we need an assistant, there should already be one. Why has it just been created at this time? Is it poor organisation? Or is it an opportunity to give the outgoing Deputy Mayor a well-paid send-off?” The Deputy Mayor recently stood down after GMP…

04Aug 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Failure to investigate crimes highlight again GMP’s inadequacies

Borough news, domestic abuse and violence

Greater Manchester Police closed 141,010 cases last year without even identifying a suspect, new analysis by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. The party’s analysis of new Home Office figures found that of the 360,099 offences committed between April 2021 and March 2022 39.16% were not investigated. Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “These awful figures show criminals are getting away with victimising people on an industrial scale. The Conservative party love to talk tough on crime, but they can’t even get the basics right. “And on Andy Burnham’s watch, GMP has remained stubbornly in special measures, has been cited repeatedly for failing victims of domestic abuse, and failed to engage in the recent review into child sex exploitation in Oldham. “That is just part of the reason why we have written to the Home Secretary asking for…

23Jul 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Burnham must face further questions

Borough news, CSE

Liberal Democrats say Andy Burnham must come to Oldham to answer questions on Greater Manchester Police special measures Liberal Democrats call on Andy Burnham to come to Oldham to answer questions on Greater Manchester Police special measures. At a meeting of Oldham’s Full Council, Liberal Democrat councillors called on Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to come to Oldham to field questions from councillors on the state of Greater Manchester Police. Liberal Democrat Councillor for Saddleworth West and Lees, Sam Al-Hamdani said, “Politically accountability has been lacking throughout the time that Greater Manchester Police has been in special measures. Will the Leader of the Council write to Mayor Burnham asking him to come to Oldham to field questions from councillors on the ongoing situation affecting Greater Manchester Police – as he…

23Jul 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

No Pride in Policing!

Borough news, fairer council

In shock news, Greater Manchester Police has pulled its rainbow livered pride car from appearing at Oldham Pride. Crompton Liberal Democrat Councillor Louie Hamblett recently received the news as a member of Oldham Pride committee. Cllr Hamblett said: “With a force now in special measures you would think they would want to be doing all they can to work with the community to rebuild trust and confidence in policing. Decisions like this from Chief Constable Watson seem counterintuitive and to drag policing backwards into its hard-line, unpassionate past. “Supporting community groups goes hand-in-hand with active neighbourhood police work. Building good relationships with people means that police are more aware of what is going on locally, and have the knowledge and awareness to better combat crime that is affecting communities. This…

13Jun 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Conductors on trams needed tackle anti-social behaviour and restore user confidence

Borough news

Oldham’s Liberal Democrat councillors have renewed their calls for Metrolink conductors/staff presence to be put in place on the Rochdale – Oldham line after it emerged that fear of anti-social behaviour preventing people using Metrolink, something the Liberal Democrats have said for several years now (2018). Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Shaw representative councillor Howard Sykes said, “The Metrolink is a huge asset for our communities. The continuing failure of Metrolink and Oldham’s Council to tackle anti-social behaviour has led to residents telling us that they are afraid to use the tram.” Last month, a report from Onward UK gave a damning insight into the realities of travelling around Oldham by tram. One respondent to the Onward UK study confessed they felt as though “you take your life into…

03May 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Vehicle crime epidemic: 140,000 car and bike thefts unsolved last year

Campaigns

New figures reveal 77,300 car thefts and 63,500 bike thefts went unsolved last yearOnly 3.9% of car thefts lead to someone being charged, down from 6.8% five years agoConservatives accused of allowing criminals to steal vehicles on “an industrial scale” Shocking new figures have revealed a “vehicle crime epidemic,” with over 140,000 car and bike thefts going unsolved by police last year. More than three quarters of car theft cases (77,318) and nine in ten bike thefts (63,481) were closed without a suspect being identified. The Liberal Democrats said the figures showed the Conservatives were soft on crime and are letting criminals get away with stealing vehicles on an “industrial scale.” The party is calling for more investment in community policing, ahead of the local elections on Thursday. The figures…

02May 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

New stats show 1.8 million crimes went unsolved in 2021

Parliamentary news

Four in ten crimes went unsolved by the police in 2021, new official figures show, with an average of 5,000 unsolved crimes every day. New figures from the Office for National Statistics show that overall crime was 18% higher in 2021 compared with 2019, driven by a 54% increase in fraud and computer misuse. Liberal Democrat analysis of new Home Office figures show that 1.8 million cases were closed by the police in 2021 without a suspect even being identified – 39% of all cases closed. Responding to the statistics, Liberal Democrats Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: “Crime is soaring on the Conservatives’ watch. They are failing our communities, making people less safe, and letting far too many criminals get away with it. “Boris Johnson and Priti Patel…

27Apr 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Figures reveal Conservatives breaking police pledge as recruitment stalls

Borough news, Parliamentary news

The Liberal Democrats have slammed the Conservatives for being soft on crime, as new official figures show they are failing on their manifesto pledge to recruit 20,000 more police officers. A total of 4,814 extra officers were recruited in the second year of the uplift, well short of the Government’s 6,000 target. It means the recruitment rate would have to increase by a third, to 6,424 extra officers in the final year of the policy to meet the target of 20,000 by March 2023. Senior police chiefs are starting to warn that the target won’t be met. Acting Met Commissioner Stephen House told MPs last week that “We are experiencing issues in the Met and I think other large forces are starting to experience recruiting challenges.” Responding to the figures,…

25Apr 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Shocking figures reveal one police station closed every two weeks since 2015

Parliamentary news

217 police stations and counters across England have closed since 2015, shocking new figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed. It's the equivalent of over one police station closing every two weeks in the past seven years under the Conservatives. The figures were obtained by the Liberal Democrats through FOI requests to every police force in England and Wales, with responses London and the South East, in particular, have seen a staggering fall in the number of police stations. Thames Valley Police, responsible for policing in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, has closed the most locations, with 23 stations and 44 counters closed since 2015. This includes 41 closures in 2016 alone. The Metropolitan Police is second in the country on stations closed, with 36 since 2015 – 31 of…

Tag: Police