Commissioner column: Police demand grows faster than police resources

Over the coming weeks and months, policing in Bedfordshire will attract significant attention, with focus on high profile cases, the processes for possible extradition of the Tate brothers, our HMICFRS Inspection Report, and consultation on the police element of the council tax for 2027/28.

Over the summer, Bedfordshire Police has experienced unprecedented numbers of reported crimes and incidents. There were five murders including a horrendous triple murder of a mother and her two children, many other major complex crimes, a rail crash, Luton Carnival and the Bedford River Festival which required over one hundred and fifty officers to ensure public safety. These are important to our communities, so policing them is important.

Last year on average 4,280 crimes and 14,761 incidents were recorded each month and there are on average 343 999 calls every day with 2,728 immediate responses per month. Calls and incidents have risen by 50 per cent over the past three years.

Within Bedfordshire there are several high-risk organised crime groups (OCGs) involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, firearms, sexual exploitation, acquisitive crime and modern slavery. Despite having the second lowest population among the seven polices services in the East Region, the Bedfordshire police service deals with the second highest number of OCGs.

This year to date there has been on average 686 domestic abuse offences per month and on average 126 rape and serious sexual offences per month.

I mention these as they describe the volume and complexity of demand faced every day by Bedfordshire Police.

Against this challenge, whilst there is a need to improve police performance in the last few months there have been improvements in 999 call handling, response times, crime solve rates and support to victims of domestic abuse and violence.

The neighbourhood and community policing teams have been expanded over the last two years enabling more focus on prevention, problem solving and crime resolution. This policing is what the public repeatedly tell us they want more of.

Yet funding is the lowest per head of population in the country. Successive governments have failed to fund us adequately. There have been modest increases in government grant the last two years and I have increased council tax to the highest allowable level, but funding is still too little.

The population has grown faster than in any comparable county and is set to grow further with more demand from projects such as the Universal Theme Park.

I continue to press government, and it has agreed to review funding in the context of wider police reform over the coming years, but we need resources now. We estimate that up to 500 more officers are needed.

I will continue to press for more resources whilst at the same time holding the Chief Constable to account for delivering an effective and improving police service to keep Bedfordshire safer.