48% Rise in Violent Crime in Surrey
In response to official crime figures showing that in 2015 the number of violent crimes recorded in Surrey increased by 48%, Paul Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) said:
"People will be concerned about this massive rise in violent crime. In just two years recorded violent crimes in Surrey have risen by 80%. This rise is far too big to be entirely explained away by claims that the police have got better at recording crime."
"It's absolutely disgraceful that our current Police and Crime Commissioner recently celebrated what he called 'another really good year'. He must be on another planet."
"This is on top of a series of critical reports recently that have slammed both Surrey police and Surrey county council for their failure to properly safeguard vulnerable people, including children and victims of rape and sexual assault."
"To make matters worse, as a result of George Osborne's budget cuts, Surrey police are having to cut over 250 jobs at the same time crime rates are rising. It's appalling that instead of being able to focus on keeping residents safe and tackling violent crime, Surrey police are having to worry about £25 million worth of budget cuts over the next four years."
"We urgently need better funding and support for our police officers so they're able to keep us safe."
"Above all we need a new approach to policing in Surrey which scraps tough sounding rhetoric and just does what actually works to cut crime - such as making greater use of restorative justice and recruiting more Special Constables to back up our hard working full-time police officers."
Paul Kennedy selected as PCC candidate
About Paul Kennedy