Police priorities

ONE of Labour's few successes was in presiding over a fall in crime to levels not seen since the early 1980s, but new figures show the cost of how this was achieved. The number of officers last year was 10 per cent higher than a decade previously, but overall policing costs grew by a remarkable 48 per cent, with overtime nearly doubling over the period to £400m.

Theresa May, the unlikely new Home Secretary, has said putting police back on the streets and slashing bureaucracy were among the Government's top priorities – although she refused to guarantee

police numbers would not fall in the public sector spending squeeze.

Certainly efforts to cut down on paperwork should be encouraged – but it is clear police authorities should also be better scrutinising overtime bills and reviewing the priorities of frontline officers.