Cut crime not police

Responding to Tory policies on knife crime, Brendan Devlin, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Stockton South, says 'We asked the Tories to cut crime, instead they cut police numbers'. He continued, 'The government pledge another 20,000 police officers, but forces lost over 21,000 officers in the last 8 years, this pledge isn't more it is just putting back what they took away. Only the Liberal Democrats will invest in the things that actually work to build safer communities: more community policing, more youth services and a proper public health approach to serious violence

Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Ed Davey added:

"The UK is in the grip of an epidemic of serious violence, and we urgently need real solutions. Instead, all the Tories can offer are the same old failed policies.

"These Conservative policies are all about seeming tough on crime, but they won't actually do anything to make our communities safer.

"Boris Johnson tried a massive expansion of suspicion-less Stop and Search when he was Mayor. His own Government's analysis shows it didn't work to stop knife crime then, and it won't work now.

"All it will do is see more young BAME people disproportionately targeted and undermine the trust and confidence police officers need to gather intelligence and prevent crime.