Northumbria’s PCC Kim McGuinness hits out at Home Office over blocked funding

The Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Kim McGuinness, has hit out at the Home Office for blocking funding for two crucial policing projects in the North East.

The PCC states that the Home Office has made it clear that they will now allow further bids into the Safer Streets fund for two successful Northumbria Police schemes.

One of the schemes is Operation Cloak, which is desiged to keep women safe in bars and clubs, with the other, called Operation Princess, aiming to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) and crime on public transport.

Kim McGuinness wrote to the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, last week to urge for the decision to be reversed.

She said: “It feels like at every turn Government is holding Northumbria Police back - throwing obstacles at policing and quite frankly throwing people into a greater risk of being victims of crime.

“We’ve been repeatedly denied funding to get recruitment figures back to where we were pre -2010, and now we are being denied funding to continue work that is evidently keeping our region and our people safe.

“We saw this investment reduce crime. The people of the North East have seen what works, they are safer as a result. We should be allowed to invest where there is proven success, based on our local needs.

“The problem with the Safer Streets Fund is it speaks to a much bigger challenge – the Home Office is intuitionally opposed to devolution.

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“There is too much reliance upon one-off funding announcements in which officials and ministers in Whitehall decide what is best for people living hundreds of miles away. “

Operation Cloak sees plain-clothes officers proactively target men who seek to take advantage of women in vulnerable situations in the night-time economy.

Operation Princess allowed for extra police and resources to be deployed across the transport network to tackle crime and rising ASB.