FOLLOWING a trip around Redditch with police officers MP Rachel Maclean has met the Home Secretary and asked for more cash to be spent on funding for the police. 

With the Spending Review to take place in the Spring, Redditch MP Rachel Maclean recently met with Bromsgrove MP and Home Secretary Sajid Javid to make the case for more funding for the police.

Overall police spending is protected in real terms until 2019/20, once local income is taken into account.

However, after hearing first-hand about the pressures the police are facing after spending time with officers on the frontline in Redditch, Mrs Maclean met with the Home Secretary in Parliament to press the case for more funding for West Mercia Police.

She said: “We’re all well aware of the pressures police are facing, and with the nature of crime changing, this needs to be matched with more funding and resources.

“The Home Secretary pointed out that police now deal with more cybercrime than traditional crime, therefore patterns of police response need to change as a result. It’s not just about visible officers on our streets, it’s also about needing the right level of resource to match the rise in non-traditional crimes too.

“The Home Secretary was sympathetic to the concerns I raised and I know he will make the case to the Chancellor for more police funding in next year’s Spending Review."

Back in September, the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia, John Campion, announced an extra 100 police officers would be recruited – that’s on top of filling existing posts.

Recruitment is underway and it is expected to take West Mercia to a total of 2,030 police officers posts.

Mrs Maclean added: “I want to see any future increase in police funding to be directed towards increasing police officer numbers even further.

“A key driver in making residents feel safe in their communities is a visible police presence, and this is what I hope to see from increased police funding.”