Labour leader visits North Yorkshire village to launch rural crime strategy
Sir Kier Starmer was joined by Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper
Labour has been outlining its new Rural Crime Strategy in North Yorkshire today.
Sir Keir Starmer has been in Cawood near Selby along with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
Sir Keir said: "Everybody who has talked to us this morning and everybody in North Yorkshire and in every rural community is entitled to the security and safety of knowing that crime is under control and, sadly, it's out of control under this Government."
He said Labour's strategy involved bringing Government departments together to work in a joined-up way and increase neighbourhood patrols.
Sir Keir said: "What we're hearing here is that, whilst there is a bit of a response, it's slow and disjointed.
"So, we've put together a cross-government strategy to make sure that all the relevant departments will be engaged in, not only putting the strategy together, but then enforcing it, to make sure that these beautiful villages and towns that we have here in North Yorkshire, but across all rural areas, get the sort of service that they need to deal with the crime that is really troubling them.
"Listening to people from these villages here this morning, it's really, really on their minds."
Ms Cooper said the plan was for 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs across the country to increase patrols.
She said: "That has to be for all areas - for our cities, for our towns, but, crucially, also for our rural communities across the country. And that means more neighbourhood patrols in rural areas."
Ms Cooper said this would be paid for with savings of hundreds of millions of pounds through tackling "wasteful contracts" across police forces.
What do the Government say?
Policing minister Chris Philp described the strategy as “just another tired, toothless tweak around the edges."
"Since March 2020, crimes against rural households have dropped by 15 per cent and overall crime is down by 55 per cent since 2010. Our plan to tackle rural crime is working, and we remain fully committed to tackling it which is why we set up the National Rural Crime Unit last year to help forces secure specialist operational support, develop bespoke approaches and share best practice.”