Opposing the Tories police cuts in Hertfordshire

Today we hear in our local newspapers that the popular choice for the Hertfordshire PCC who gained a huge mandate when he was elected with 14 % of the turnout last year is set to set to work in attacking our police force and the numbers on the streets. s By Ben Endley More than 130 police officers and staff are set to be cut in Hertfordshire as part of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s first budget. Councillor David Lloyd is proposing to freeze the budget precept for 2013/14 while making £6.3 million of spending cuts. The budget anticipates the loss of 60 police officer posts and 76 police staff posts during the next financial year. This would reduce the number of officers working in the county to 1,900 and the number of staff to 1,762. A percentage of these officer posts will be lost from crime investigation roles which is losing £350,000 from its budget, while savings will also be made in intelligence support, in the control room and through collaboration with other forces. The socialist party and TUSC in Hertfordshire condemn these cuts and urge all to add their voices to ours in opposition. As socialists we are against cuts to the police too as crime disproportionably affects working class communities we therefore oppose cuts to the police. We do not take a ultra left position that some on the left do that the police are our mortal enemy we do have serious criticisms of the police and their roles in phone hacking, breaking up picket lines and much much more injustices we do not excuse them for that but when it comes to cuts and how this will affect local communities we will oppose police cuts. When we say we’re against all cuts we have to be clear we are against police cuts too even if they show little solidarity wit anti cuts protesters and students on demonstrations. At the end of the day the polices with the army recruit largely from working class backgrounds the fact they are not allowed full trade union rights and have always up till now been paid fairly well in comparison with other public sector workers was always the ruling class’s attempt to draw them away from the working-class and more importantly the labour movement. But we do oppose these cuts by the Tories a no doubt labourPCC’s around the country will be making cuts too we oppose cuts whoever is making them. The socialist party stands for full democratic trade union rights for the police For the police to have the right to strike For the police to affiliate to the TUC and be able to have a political voice more so than the limp Police Federation which can only mummer opposition to government policies at present. Ensuring the police are democratically accountable to us the working class is a first step to drawing them nearer our position and could one day open up splits in the state but this is something much further down the line. But for now we oppose these dangerous cuts to the police service.