Tories reignite police numbers row

The Tories have long seen law and order as fertile territory

The former Tory Minister David Davis has reignited the row over police numbers that engulfed Westminster before Christmas.

Mr Davies, a senior Conservative MP, called for 32,000 extra policemen over the next eight years saying it isn't enough just to reverse current shortfalls.

In a special policy paper he argues that there should be as many as 25% more police officers by the end of the next parliament.

But the Shadow Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe was lukewarm about his comments saying Tories should not promise what cannot be afforded.

What you don't want is to set yourself a numerical target regardless of quality and history

Shadow Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe

The Conservative leadership believes that law and order is fertile territory for its renaissance and Labour's demise, but Mr Davis has gone further than anyone else in his own party.

He admitted that the plan would cost in the order of £2bn - ½% of government spending - which sits uncomfortably alongside Tory pledges to cut taxes.

Mr Davis said he wanted to switch the debate away from party political claims about who was toughest on crime and focus on the capacity of the police force to do the job.

He agreed with his own front bench - that it's not all about numbers: organisation and leadership count too - but they would not automatically result in more criminals being caught.

"The number of crimes per police officer has grown to the mid-30s, about 37 per policeman. That means there are more crimes than can be solved," he said.

Shadow Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe said she welcomed Mr Davis's contribution to the debate but reiterated the Tories' pledge to recruit 3,000 police officers and get numbers back to 1997 levels - as a first step.

"It has to make sense that if you have fewer people out on the streets there fighting crime, you are going to have a rise in crime.

"What you don't want is to set yourself a numerical target regardless of quality and history," she said.

She added that there would be huge difficulties in the way with the plan, so her party would promise only what they knew they could deliver.

Numbers game

Ministers do now acknowledge that police numbers have fallen during their three-and-a-half years in office but insist that they are now on the rise.

However, there are those who argue that the obsession with numbers is misplaced - among those the Labour chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, Robin Corbett:

"I wish life was that simple. If you double the number of officers you'd have the amount of crime. We'd all vote for that. But there's no evidence at all for that."

"Some of the police forces that have had the lowest increases in manpower over the last few years have recorded the biggest increases in the clear up of crime," he said.

He added that the Police needed to build upon their links with local communities and focus on better leadership.

Officers off the beat

Meanwhile the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens has warned of hundreds of officers being taken off the beat to perform backroom administrative duties.

In an interview with The Independent newspaper, Sir John said that not only were numbers down, but morale too, in the wake of the Macpherson inquiry into Stephen Lawrence's murder.

"We have had to take 200 officers off the streets to do office duties and deal with things like 999 calls and ensure we provide a proper service - and that really is just not on," he said.

His claim that his force is heading for a significant shortfall in staff within two months is likely to impress upon politicians the need to commit to more police officers - rather than just talk about.