The events of last week have shocked communities across our region, writes PCC Joy Allen.
We have mourned the tragic deaths of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, who went to work to protect the public and never returned home to their families. They were killed when a car carrying five young men, travelling the wrong way along the A66, collided head-on with their police vehicle. Seven lives were lost that night.
And the shock has not ended there.
We have seen homes rammed and vehicles deliberately set alight. These extraordinary and deeply disturbing events have left families grieving and communities frightened.
Residents watching these events unfold are asking a simple question: do our police have the resources they need to keep us safe?
Despite everything that has changed in policing, Durham is still 120 officers short of the strength we had in 2010. Cleveland is around 200 officers short. These missing officers matter.
They matter when residents want to see neighbourhood police in their communities. They matter when officers are tackling anti-social behaviour, targeting organised crime gangs and taking dangerous drivers off our roads. They also matter when major incidents require significant police resources at short notice.
For five years, I have lobbied Government to restore the officers we have lost, reform the outdated funding formula and give Police and Crime Commissioners greater flexibility to invest in local priorities.
Yet, instead of addressing these long-standing funding inequalities, forces across the country face the prospect of expensive structural reform, including police force mergers.
People are not asking for bigger police forces. They are asking for more police officers on their streets.
If billions can potentially be found for restructuring, surely £10m can be found to restore Durham’s missing 120 officers.
My message to Government is simple: spend taxpayers’ money strengthening the frontline, not on a costly bureaucratic restructure that the public neither asked for, voted for, nor was promised in any manifesto.
Joy Allen
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
