Hove MP Peter Kyle has dismissed £1.3million extra funding for violent crime in Sussex as “a drop in the ocean”.
Mr Kyle Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas and Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle jointly wrote to Home Secretary Sajid Javid last month urging him to set up a taskforce to address rising levels of violent crime in the city.
In Brighton and Hove, violent crime has risen by 108 per cent since 2011, and there were more than 5,739 incidents of violence recorded in the first quarter of 2019.
This month, Home Secretary Sajid Javid has agreed to boost funding for Sussex Police, who will receive £1.34 million from a dedicated Serious Violence Fund. The extra funding is being allocated to areas dealing with high levels of violent crime.
Peter Kyle MP has welcomed the Government’s action in response to the pressure brought by the Brighton and Hove MPs, but raises concerns over the real-term cuts to funding which render the cash boost “a drop in the ocean”.
He said: “Any money provided which will help our police fight violent crime is hugely appreciated. I’m also immensely pleased that a combined effort from the city’s MPs has helped to bring £1.34 in to our force by piling pressure on the government.
“However, it’s disappointing to have to remind the Home Secretary that analysis of National Audit Office data shows that our Sussex Force experienced a drop in funding which totalled £57,256,043 in real-terms over the last eight years, making the £1.34 a mere drop in the ocean.
“The true, effective way to combat violent and sexual crime is to have more bobbies on the beat and more community police in our schools.”
