More police officers will be drafted into Harborough

Neighbourhood Patrol Officers are to be drafted in to Market Harborough police station in Fairfield Road next month.

The extra officers are being brought in to back up the dedicated neighbourhood team already based in the town.

Thousands of people throughout Harborough will pay another £10 council tax in 2020-21 to help bankroll the police presence.

Lord Willy Bach, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Leicestershire, told the Harborough Mail: “This is a very important move.

“It’s a positive step for the people of Market Harborough and the entire district.

“I can’t stress too much how vital it is to have more police right here on our own doorsteps and in our backyards.”

The county’s PCC said the new officers would play a crucial role in helping to tackle criminals and reassure people across Harborough.

“The new response or patrol officers will be based alongside investigative officers from March 11 onwards.

“They will basically own the crime they investigate from start to finish,” said Lord Bach, who lives near Lutterworth.

“This is very exciting.

“The patrol officers will respond to an incident and then see the case through rather than passing it on to colleagues.

“They will combine local knowledge with the most modern digital aids and technical equipment that we can give them.

“During the recent years of government austerity and cutbacks local policing has suffered.

“Policing has become more centralised as officers have become thinner on the ground.

“But that’s starting to ease now.

“I’m delighted we are bringing more police back into very important police stations like Market Harborough.”

The former Lutterworth mayor said 80 more officers will be on active duty across the county by the end of March – with another 27 by June.

“These are all locally funded because we were able to increase the precept by the maximum last year.

“The county’s Police and Crime Panel has now approved my budget for 2020-21,” said Lord Bach, who was a Harborough councillor for Lutterworth in the 1990s.

“So as a result we can recruit another 100 officers and 20 Police Community Support Officers over the next year or so.”

Leicestershire will also be handed an additional 89 officers as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s vow to spike police numbers nationally by 20,000.

“That means that Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland will have 2,104 police officers by March 2021.

“We had 2,300 officers here in 2010 so we are getting back up towards that level,” said Lord Bach.

“On the other hand the population of Harborough and Leicestershire as a whole has risen by about 10 per cent in the last 10 years and there’s more crime.”

The retired top criminal law barrister said it is paramount that the thin blue line in South Leicestershire is reinforced.

“People in Market Harborough and the district will note the difference as the force puts more officers back on to the patch.

“Communities want to see more police out and about and officers will become more visible,” insisted Lord Bach.

“They will have more expertise in tackling and stopping local crime so this will be a big boost for Harborough.

“Not all officers will be out patrolling because some will be combatting cybercrime, modern slavery, fraud and child exploitation.

“It’s silly to pretend there will be an officer on every street corner – and there never was.

“But we are heading in the right direction.”

Asked about the biggest law and order threats facing Harborough in 2020, Lord Bach replied: “We still have serious violence problems, including knife crime.

“County Lines drugs gangs using kids as mules is clearly a danger – along with the whole drugs issue.

“We still have a lack of resources as Leicestershire still loses out on national funding.

“But it’s still safe to live here and we live in a relatively low-crime area across Harborough.

“And we have an efficient, modern and well-led police force helping to look after us.”

He’s stepping down in May after serving an eventful and active four-year term as the county’s PCC.

“Police numbers are heading back up and I’m pleased that that will be part of the legacy I leave behind,” said Lord Bach.