Drop in police officers in South Yorkshire

The number of officers in South Yorkshire Police has dropped over the last year, new figures from the Home Office show.
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The reduction in police officers across England and Wales to the lowest level since 1996 has led the Police Federation to warn that "policing in the UK is on the critical list".

In March, there were the equivalent of 2,459 full-time officers in South Yorkshire – a drop of 24 on March 2017.

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The figures also show that less time was being spent on frontline policing – 2,135 officers were available for frontline duties in March this year, down 43 from 2017.

Ché Donald of the Police Federation of England and Wales said: "These new figures are proof, as if we even needed it, that policing in the UK is on the critical list.

"Thanks to government funding cuts, we now have the lowest number of police officers since 1996. The figures show we have lost more than 21,300 officers since 2010 – that’s a drop of 15% and the numbers keep going down every year."

The latest figures show an 11% rise in recorded crime across England and Wales, and a 19% increase in violent crimes.

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In South Yorkshire, recorded crime was up by 17%. Violent crime saw a 35% increase.

The total police staff in South Yorkshire, including police community support officers and administrative staff, increased by 4% over the last year.

The minister for Policing and the Fire Service, Nick Hurd, said: “The number of people joining police forces is at a 10-year high and demonstrates that policing is still a desirable and sought-after career.

“Decisions regarding the number of officers and how they are deployed are a matter for Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables. They are best placed to understand how to meet the needs of local communities.

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“However, I’ve spoken to every force about the changing demand they face and we are helping with a £460m increase in overall funding 2018-19, including increased funding to tackle counter-terrorism and increased funding for local policing through council tax precept.”

Earlier this week, a Home Office report showed that government funding for South Yorkshire Police had decreased by 2% between the 2015-16 and 2018-19 financial years.

Overall funding, however, increased by 3%, as council tax payers picked up the bill with a 21% increase in the precept they paid.