Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, has called on the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to ensure that Barnet receives a fair allocation of police resources.
Currently, the Allocation Formula distributes policing resources according to the perceived needs of each area. This happens across the country: for example, a rural area may receive a bigger share of category funding available to tackle road safety, whereas an urban area may receive a bigger share of category funding for violent crime. Currently, the allocation of resources between inner and outer London is demand-led, set by a formula, but Theresa Villiers has questioned whether the allocation still reflects the reality of life in the London suburbs. Recent years have seen a population shift from inner London out towards the suburbs.
In a discussion on the BBC Sunday Politics, Theresa raised this point with Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) Sophie Linden, who said that she recognised that the demand between inner and outer London is shifting and resources should perhaps reflect that.
Theresa has also submitted Parliamentary Questions to the Government on the continuation of ward-based policing and to try and gain more clarity on police numbers.
Theresa said: “I welcome the Government’s decision to protect spending on the police in real terms at a time of severe pressure on public finances. It is also good news that investment in counter-terrorism is going up significantly. But we need to make sure policing resources are distributed fairly between different areas.”
"Barnet’s population is rising and it also faces many of the same social issues with which areas in inner London have to grapple. I believe that suburbs like Barnet should get a fairer share than they are currently. It was good to hear from Sophie Linden that she and the Mayor would consider that seriously.”
Crime levels in the UK have fallen by around a third since the Conservatives took office in 2010, according to the traditional measure compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS, Crime in England and Wales, period ending September 2016, 19 January 2017, link).