Concerns that football matches ‘drag’ police away from rural areas

Concerns have been raised that rural areas are left with no police when resources are “dragged” to Shrewsbury to cover football matches.

Councillor Roger Evans, who represents the Longden area, said big events in the county town often see neighbourhood officers roped in at the expense of the local villages.

He put the claims to Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion at a meeting of West Mercia police and crime panel, but was told police cover is always available.

Councillor Evans made the comments following the commissioner’s presentation on his annual report.

Mr Campion said one of his main “frustrations” from the previous year was the apparent slow progress in improving resident’s perceptions of police presence in their areas.

He said: “That has to change and I have the commitment of the chief constable we will continue to redouble our efforts to ensure that does happen.”

The report also highlighted the force’s recruitment drive which has seen officer numbers boosted by 500 since Mr Campion was first elected in 2016.

Panel members asked how many of those roles were front-line officers, but Mr Campion said it was difficult to say as the traditional definition of ‘front-line’ did not include officers working on things like cyber crime.

He added: “Around 20 per cent of people report seeing a police officer once a week. My view is I think we can improve that.”

However Councillor Evans said there was a distinct lack of police presence in rural areas at certain times, particularly on weekends.

He said: “There’s not enough on the ground. Residents need to see the police – it’s the fear of crime as much as the actual crime.

“Police are being dragged into Shrewsbury because of the problems there.”

Mr Campion said it was normal for officers to be brought in to help in other areas where they are most needed.

He said: “You will always get the urban centres drawing police resources, it’s the nature of crime and demand.

“I would suggest Shrewsbury probably say Telford get the resources dragged that way, and Telford would probably say the West Midlands draw resources.

“Those police officers don’t come from a box in a cupboard somewhere, they come from other roles in people’s communities.”

Mr Campion said he had allocated funding in recent years to help ensure large events were policed appropriately.

He added that he had recently made £400,000 available for officers’ overtime to avoid drawing officers away from the safer neighbourhood teams (SNTs).

Mr Campion said: “There is never going to be enough, there is always going to be more demand than resources available.”

But Councillor Evans said the issue was causing concern among people in his ward, with it beoming common knowledge that there are certain times when police will not be around.

He said: “Every Saturday afternoon when Shrewsbury Town are at home, the rural areas lose their police.

“It is becoming well-known in the area that there are no police around today and that’s not good for the perception of crime and fear of crime.”

However Mr Campion responded: “There are no parts of West Mercia that are un-policed. There is never a community that doesn’t have policing available.”