The Conservatives will always back our brave police and security services with the powers and resources needed to keep our country safe and we will always work to deliver a justice system that is fair to victims and sees offenders repay their debt to society. Under the Conservatives, violent crime has fallen by 44% since 2010 and neighbourhood crime is down 48%. Reoffending has fallen from over 30% in 2010 to 25%.
Nationally, we have recruited 20,000 police officers, delivered 6,000 prison places as part of the largest prison expansion since the Victorian era and deported over 18,000 foreign national offenders since 2019 alone.
Locally in Devon and Cornwall, we have recruited an additional 619 new police officers that have been funded by both the national Uplift programme and local council precept investment. This brings the total up to 1,446 new officers for Devon and Cornwall between 2019 and 2023.
We will:
❱ Give every neighbourhood an additional police officer by recruiting 8,000 more police officers to patrol communities and catch criminals in every ward in the country. These full time, fully warranted officers will be dedicated to neighbourhood policing.
❱ Back the police, by giving officers new powers and tools to catch criminals, including technology like facial recognition and powers to seize knives and track down stolen property. We will always back the police in the lawful and professional use of force, alongside a fair and proportionate accountability system.
❱ Restore public trust in policing. We will license police officers for specialist roles, as we do already for firearms officers. We will legislate to ensure officers are appropriately vetted during their service and those who fail can be sacked.
