'We need 30 more police officers in Milton Keynes,' say councillors

City councillors are calling for the Police and Crime Commissioner to increase number of police in Milton Keynes

The Labour and Lib Dem Progressive Alliance in control of Milton Keynes City Council is asking for an extra 30 officers.

They say Milton Keynes is the single biggest area in the Thames Valley force area and, having recently achieved city status, it continues to grow every day.

Recent figures published by Thames Valley Police revealed that 4,772 police officers are working in the force. Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber claims this is the largest the force has ever been.

But, say the councillors, an analysis of force data suggests the number of police officers per 100,000 residents has fallen from 221 in 2011 to 203 in 2022.

This means there’s the equivalent of 18 fewer officers on the streets. This is not enough and more needs to be done to reflect the population size of Milton Keynes, they say/

Liberal Democrat councillor Robin Bradburn is deputy leader of the council and also sits on the Thames Valley Police & Crime Panel. He said: “We’re not seeing as many police officers in MK and these figures explain why, as a growing city we need the Police & Crime Commissioner to act now and reassure us that officer numbers will increase.

“We want residents in Milton Keynes to feel safe and supported by our local police force.” .