Bedford’s LibDems have recently circulated a press release using old data [up to September 2022], claiming that the crime rates in Bedfordshire are worse than they actually are.
In the press release LibDem Councillor Tim Caswell, said: “This Conservative government’s inaction has led to hundreds of burglars getting away with it [not being prosecuted] and hundreds of families waiting endlessly for justice that may never arrive.”
Councillor Caswell sits on the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Panel. During the period: 20/09/2022 – 15/03/2023 he attended two out of six meetings, as did Labour’s Councillor Mohammed Nawaz, the Conservative Jim Weir attended all six meetings.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire, Festus Akinbusoye defends his record and comments saying: “I recognise an election is round the corner, hence the misinformation from some candidates and political parties. This is very unfortunate.
“The facts are, and based on latest Home Office data, Bedfordshire Police has the highest solve rate for domestic burglaries in England and Wales and our Chief Constable is on record quoting this at public meetings.
“The force was also one of the first police areas in the country to make sure a forensics staff attended all domestic burglaries. We have seen domestic burglaries falling in Bedfordshire below pre-pandemic levels as well, and I thank our dedicated, nationally recognised Op MAZE team for their work in this area.
“On Community Policing, it is unfortunate that clearly, due to electioneering, misleading narratives are once again being published by campaigners.
“Since I was elected as PCC under two years ago, there has been an increase in the number of dedicated Community Police Constables to its highest levels ever, with more than 60 PCs.
“This number is increasing by 10 officers in 2023/24. The number of PCSOs are also being maintained under my watch; not reduced, as they are integral to my community policing priority.
“Lastly, on police numbers, Bedfordshire Police has seen an 11% increase in total number of officers since 2010, and is now set to eclipse its previous record of officers by March 2023, reaching 1,456 PCs.
“This is the highest number of police officers in Bedfordshire Police ever, and that number is increasing. Our force is benefitting from the Government’s 20,000 uplift as we have exceeded our recruitment target each year of the recruitment program.
Despite the recent HMICFRS inspection assessing Bedfordshire Police as one of the best performing forces in England and Wales, I nevertheless acknowledge, there is a lot more work to do in cutting crime, preventing harm and retaining police officers in Bedfordshire.
“I am fully committed to working with the Chief Constable in delivering these.”
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