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Row over number of bobbies on beat in West Midlands

A row has erupted over a decline in the number of bobbies on the beat in the West Midlands amid a surge in "horrific" rising crime.

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Jay Singh-Sohal said neighbourhood officer numbers had fallen under Labour Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) David Jamieson.

And it has led to the Tory candidate saying the region needed a PCC who would put officers back on the beat to help tackle crime.

But Mr Jamieson has hit back at the Conservative politician saying he found his comments "ironic" after a "decade" of policing cuts.

West Midlands Police also recently revealed it had hit its target of recruiting 366 officers four months ahead of schedule despite Covid-19.

Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner candidate Jay Singh-Sohal

Mr Singh-Sohal said: "I welcome more police officers being recruited into the West Midlands as part of extra Government investment.

"But we need a PCC who will put them to good use by increasing the number of neighbourhood police officers in our communities, which has fallen under the Labour Commissioner.

"Residents in the Black Country want to stop our police stations from closing and see more officers out on the streets of our vulnerable communities, from Aldridge to West Bromwich to Stourbridge, where ever-more horrific crime incidents are rising but local police presence is not."

In all, the force expects to bring in a total of 2,800 new recruits by 2023. This includes officers who are not part of the national uplift programme, some of whom will replace people who have either left or retired.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson

Mr Jamieson said: "I find it ironic that a person who supported a decade of government cuts to policing, forcing the West Midlands force to shrink its number of officers by more than 2,000, should now be asking me where all the officers have gone.

"Nonetheless, I am pleased to confirm that after years of campaigning I have secured some much needed funding to take on 366 police officers. These have all now been recruited four months ahead of the Government’s target date.

"Those new officers will soon be tackling crime in your neighbourhood."

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