Charge rates for weapons offences in Hertfordshire fall by 14%

A new analysis has revealed that Hertfordshire charges for possession of weapons offences have collapsed in the past two years.

A new analysis by the House of Commons Library published yesterday by the Labour Party revealed that the proportion of arrests for violent offending leading to a charge has fallen by a third across the 43 forces in England and Wales and the British Transport Police.

The same analysis showed that in Hertfordshire

• Charge rates for Public Order offences fell by 10.6%
• Charge rates for Violence against the person fell by 6.90%
• and charge rates for Robbery fell by 5.6%

The National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair Sara Thornton warned: “I am utterly convinced that intelligence-led policing with a focus on prolific offenders and hot-spot locations makes a real difference. But few officers and staff are able to do less policing. Arrests have halved in a decade.”

• The proportion of arrests for violent offences that led to a CHARGE/SUMMONS fell by a third over the past two years, from 17.5 percent in 2015/16 to just 11.3 percent in 2017/18
• Over the same period, the proportion of arrests for sexual offences that led to a CHARGE/SUMMONS has been halved, while the proportion of arrests for thefts leading to a charge or summons has fallen by a quarter.

Rosie Newbigging, Welwyn Hatfield’s Labour Parliamentary Candidate said:

“This is chilling evidence that Tory police cuts have put the people of Hertfordshire, and therefore Welwyn Hatfield in danger.

“The Tories have cut 21,000 police officers, and crime is up – proving you can’t keep people safe on the cheap.

“Labour will hire 10,000 extra police officers around the country, including Hertfordshire, to help fight surging serious crime.”