Where Are Milton Keynes' New Police Officers?

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 30th Apr 2005

Jane Carr, Parliamentary Candidate for the Liberal Democrats in North East Milton Keynes, has highlighted a growing concern about the speed with which Thames Valley Police are training and deploying new recruits to fill vacancies.

Thames Valley Police currently have 206 vacancies for the financial year 2005-06, but due to pressure on the college training system, it is at least 6 months before any applicants become fully trained police officers.

Jane said, "For a Labour Government that spends vast amounts of money telling us how tough on crime it is through posters and TV adverts, as well as spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on high-profile recruitment campaigns, I am staggered that there has been insufficient investment in police training colleges. This is just another example of how Labour is letting down the people of Milton Keynes. Thames Valley Police are a fantastic force but they need more resources to help to reduce the length of time it takes to get new, fully trained officers on our streets."

If elected on 5 May, Jane will vigorously support the Liberal Democrat campaign for 10,000 extra police officers, paid for by scrapping the expensive ID Card scheme proposed by Labour and supported by local Labour MP, Brian White.

Jane added: "Mark Lancaster and the Conservative Party want to cut public spending and cut taxes. Their spending plans are a complete fantasy based on imaginary savings. They have failed to explain how they will help to improve police recruitment problems, which is a major concern of many of the people I've spoken to this week on the doorstep."

On law and order, there is a clear divide between the Liberal Democrats and the two other parties. There is only one party offering fully costed and transparent policies that will make a real difference. Jane is urging Milton Keynes residents to use their vote wisely and choose the real alternative on 5 May - the Liberal Democrats.