They say the funding would go towards measures proven to tackle neighbourhood crime, violence against women and girls, and anti-social behaviour.
Currently, one of the main topics in local news and within the community is policing and tackling crime in Milton Keynes. Local MP's Ben Everitt and Iain Stewart are now sharing their encouragement for a bid to secure funding from the government's Safer Streets Fund.
The MPs say that last year, the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner secured almost £1 million to cover the Thames Valley area.
Iain Stewart, the MP for Milton Keynes South, said: “I am determined to see crime in our community fall, which is why I am encouraging Thames Valley Police to apply for new funding from the fourth round of our Safer Streets Fund.
“This round of funding will look to tackle neighbourhood crime, violence against women and girls, and anti-social behaviour to help ensure everyone feels safe in their local community.”
Ben Everitt, the MP for Milton Keynes South, commented: “I am determined to ensure we tackle crime in Milton Keynes and on top of getting more police officers on our streets, it’s important we make the most of grants like the Safer Streets Fund to make MK safer.
“The focus of this round of the Safer Streets Fund on neighbourhood crime, violence against women and girls, and anti-social behaviour and I know these are issues my constituents are concerned about.”
Earlier this month, MK Labour Group reported that the Thames Valley Police Community Forum had heard that the force’s stale hiring process has resulted in officers from outside of Milton Keynes having to come to work overtime in response to knife and gang-related crime.
They said that despite this, only two officers have have been recruited to cover the Milton Keynes area.
MKFM reached out to Ben Everitt, MP for Milton Keynes North and Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Police, for a comment in response to the Labour Group's research.
Ben Everitt MP told MKFM: "During the 2019 election I campaigned for 183 new officers for Thames Valley Police. By the end of 2021, we had an extra 229.
“The Government has also allocated Thames Valley Police resources to recruit an extra 244 officers in 2022/23 and I’m pleased to learn that by the end of March the force will have more officers than ever before at 4,615.
“I’m working closely with the Government and Matthew Barber on tackling knife crime in Milton Keynes and recently raised the issue with the Policing Minister in the House of Commons.
“Over the past the Government has also provided millions of pounds to Thames Valley Police for the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and from the Home Office Serious Violence Fund.”
Despite asking for yearly numbers for recruited police in Milton Keynes, MKFM have been unable to receive them from TVP or the local MP, with residents also calling on the figures to be released on social media.
MKFM understands that the MP's office also tried to get hold of the yearly figures.
Following a freedom of information request from a local Milton Keynes resident, figures seen by MKFM suggest that Milton Keynes only had 21 more officers in January 2022 than it did in January 2020.
In March 2019, 285 officers were employed to cover the MK area whilst in January 2022, data shows there was 320.
The data, supplied by TVP, is based on current rank at the end of each month so also includes acting or temporary transfers.
Thames Valley Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley said in a joint statement to MKFM: “It is incorrect to state we have only hired two new police officers to cover Milton Keynes.
“Over the last two years, there have been 92 new officers and 15 transfers in Milton Keynes, while 46 have left, equalling a net increase of 61 officers.
“Milton Keynes has benefitted, along with the rest of the Thames Valley from the National Police Uplift Programme which presents a fantastic opportunity to increase the number of police officers for all of our communities.
“It will see us recruit at least an additional 598 officers by March 2023 who will significantly enhance our ability to prevent harm, investigate crime, support victims, bring offenders to justice and make our communities safer.
“Thames Valley Police continues to attract a high number of applicants looking to serve their communities as police officers and by the end of this month we will have increased officer numbers by 365, achieving higher levels of diversity than at any previous time; with 14.7% of all new officers in the past 12 months coming from ethnically diverse backgrounds and in the same period 48.8% of our new recruits have been female.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, the recruitment market nationally is buoyant and therefore challenging from a recruiters perspective. We are working hard to attract sufficient recruits to meet our 2021/22 targets and currently have over 1,450 applicants at various stages of the recruitment process.
“We are committed to delivering an increase in police officers numbers, not just through the national recruitment programme, but through locally funded recruitment that goes even further.
“In addition we will continue to work with local councils and other partners to drive down knife crime but focusing on prevention, investing in CCTV and targeting those most likely to become involved with serious violence.”
MKFM will update this article or our news page as more comes.
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