West Yorkshire Police chief compares budget to cost of living crisis

West Yorkshire Police chief constable John Robins says "there's just not enough people" for the neighbourhood policing levels people hope for

The chief constable of West Yorkshire Police has said the force does not have the resources it needs to deliver the service the public expects from it.

John Robins said it could deal with major incidents and crimes, but only at a cost to neighbourhood policing.

It is down 2,000 staff and £140m since 2010, he said, comparing its budget to the household cost of living crisis.

The Home Office said: "We are giving the police the resources they need to tackle crime."

It said that through its police recruitment campaign "we have more police officers in England and Wales than ever before and West Yorkshire has 974 additional officers".

Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, Mr Robins said the West Yorkshire force knew how to do neighbourhood policing "really well" but "there's just not enough people in it".

"We are able to deal with the most serious incidents in policing, from terrorism to serious organised crime, homicide and serious violence," he said.

"But as you go down the list of issues, when you get towards visibility, engagement, patrols, neighbourhood policing, that's the one that comes under the most pressure."

He continued: "The saddest thing for the people of West Yorkshire and the UK is that's the one the public see most and want the most of."

'Haven't got the money'

Mr Robins, who was appointed chief constable in 2019, described himself as "apolitical" but appealed for further government funding to help the force.

"It's like your household budget, through cost of living and mortgage increases people haven't got the money that they want to live their life with," he said.

"Since 2010 that's what it has been like for policing. We're 2,000 less officers and staff, £140m less - I can't deliver what I want to deliver as a professional police officer."

Home Secretary Suella Braverman recently told police leaders to "ramp up" the use of stop-and-search powers to "save more lives".

The Home Office said the government had confirmed a total police funding settlement of up to £560.8m for West Yorkshire Police in 2023/2024, an increase of up to £18.9m over the previous year.

Mr Robins defended his officers, who he said were going from "job to job to job" and doing "an amazing thing trying to keep people safe".

He continued: "As the NHS and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service struggles with a capacity issue and struggles to treat people in hospital, people don't lose trust in them - they say 'poor NHS'.

"When the police struggle to resource what we're doing, struggle to investigate things because of resources, people somehow assume we're not doing our job properly."

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