More ‘bobbies on the beat’ by 2029 is one of six ‘milestones’ announced by the prime minister yesterday. In a widely trailed ‘plan for change’, Sir Keir Starmer said the milestone will be achieved with an extra 13,000 police officers, police community support officers and special constables in dedicated neighbourhood policing roles.

Law Society president Richard Atkinson welcomed the focus on crime and justice – but said increased funding for more police must be matched by legal aid investment.

Atkinson said: ‘More police on the streets means more arrests and a huge knock-on effect on the rest of the system. More lawyers will be needed to provide legal advice despite an alarming exodus of legal aid solicitors. More cases going to court will increase the huge backlogs, with reports of trials already being listed for 2028. More people being locked up increases the pressure on already overwhelmed prisons.’

Crown Prosecution Service chief Stephen Parkinson told MPs this week that the Crown court backlog had grown considerably in the past four years partly due to the extra work generated by the previous government’s commitment to recruit 20,000 more police officers.

 

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