Surge in violent crime sparks calls for more police funding in Hampshire

The latest Home Office statistics revealed violent crime across England and Wales had surged by 19 per cent in a year.

The number of homicides – which includes murder and manslaughter – rose from 649 to 739, an increase of 14 per cent, in the 12 months since the end of September.

While the number of robberies and recorded sexual offences also rose.

The revelation has worried Alex Charge, chairman of Hampshire Police Federation, who has called for the government to increase spending on recruiting more rank-and-file officers.

Mr Charge said: ‘With the harsh cuts to policing, I don't think that these figures will surprise any Hampshire officer.

‘Less money for policing ultimately means less cops which means more crime, it’s not rocket science.

‘Hampshire cops work hard to fight crime but there is only so much they can do in the face of continued cuts to policing budgets by the government.

‘Central government needs to provide Hampshire with our fair share of funding for policing.’

Overall crimes recorded by police went up seven per cent with a total of 5,723,182 offences noted.

John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation and the former head of Hampshire Police Federation, said: ‘Society just isn't as safe as it once was, and although the police service is doing everything within its power, we are swimming against the tide and it is the public who are being let down.’

Public order offences went up by 24 per cent  to 427,134.