A new Conservative MP has broken his pledge to deliver 183 new police officers in Milton Keynes within 3 months of being elected, as it has been revealed that Milton Keynes will receive fewer than a quarter of the number of new officers he promised.

Thames Valley Police recently announced it would recruit 36 new officers for the Milton Keynes area, however this is fewer than the number of officers that will retire in that time and will still mean that police numbers are below 2010 levels.

At the same time, police are having to deal with increasing levels of violent crime in the city and an increasing network of “county lines” gangs dealing in drugs, modern slavery, cyber-crime and sexual exploitation.

Figures from the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner have also revealed that Milton Keynes has one of the lowest levels of funding for community safety in the Thames Valley and has lower funding levels than hugely affluent areas such as Windsor, West Berkshire and Bracknell Forest. 

Cllr Hannah O’Neill, Cabinet Member for Community Safety said: “Just three months ago the new MP for Milton Keynes North promised 183 new police officers for Milton Keynes. We will get just 36, not even enough to replace the officers that will be retiring in that time. Even for a Westminster politician that must be some sort of record!”

She continued: “Our local police are amazing and we are working hard through our community safety partnership, Safer MK, in tackling growing levels of very serious crime and criminal networks, including establishing a Knife Crime and Anti-social Behaviour Task Force. However to know we are getting less money than places like Windsor is truly galling and shows what we are up against, total complacency on crime and the causes of crime.”

She concluded: “After ten years of a Conservative government police numbers have been slashed and even new recruits won’t bring us back to 2010 levels. We have lost so much money for services to tackle the causes of crime. The Conservative record on keeping our communities safe is appalling.”