{"id":383003,"date":"2018-10-30T20:30:33","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T19:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/chancellor-hammonds-budget-savaged-by-police-federation-rt-uk-news\/"},"modified":"2018-10-30T20:30:33","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T19:30:33","slug":"chancellor-hammonds-budget-savaged-by-police-federation-rt-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/chancellor-hammonds-budget-savaged-by-police-federation-rt-uk-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Chancellor Hammond\u2019s budget savaged by Police Federation \u2014 RT UK News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Police Federation lambasted Chancellor Philip Hammond\u2019s Budget announcement after it was revealed more money would be spent on potholes than on policing, and claims the government is \u201cjeopardising the safety of the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hammond\u2019s 2018 Budget included an extra \u00a3160 million (US$204 million) for counter-terrorism policing, but was notable for its absence in providing further funding in other areas of policing \u2013 an omission that has riled a police association amid rising crime rates.<\/p>\n

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The Police Federation, which represents 120,000 rank-and-file officers, said the budget didn\u2019t address \u201cthe overwhelming issues facing the police service.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Chair John Apter said the \u00a3160 million awarded to counter-terrorism policing was the \u201cvery minimum required\u201d<\/em> to retain capability, and under half the \u00a3420 million allocated to deal with potholes. He claims the government is putting the public\u2019s safety at risk.<\/p>\n

Apter told the Independent: \u201cThis is just another example of the contempt in which the government holds police officers. What does it say when a government prioritises pot holes over policing?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe government are jeopardising the safety of the public who they have a duty to protect.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Home Affairs Committee reports that while the number of offences recorded has increased by a third in three years, with violent crime rising rapidly, charges and summons have fallen dramatically by 26 percent.<\/p>\n

Data from all but one of 43 forces released last week showed the number of arrests by police in England and Wales has almost halved in 10 years, and victims\u2019 confidence in the criminal justice system is dwindling.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Laser shone at plane cockpit flying at 29,000 feet, police investigate<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Police officer numbers in England and Wales have fallen by more than 20,000 since 2010. Current levels of 126,000 are the lowest recorded since the early 1980s.<\/p>\n