Express & Star law and order survey: Readers want more bobbies on the beat

People logged on to expressandstar.com to have their say following the launch of this newspaper's crime survey asking readers how safe they feel and what they think is key to addressing the concerning rise in crime.

Home Office figures released last week revealed recorded offences had risen by 37 per cent in five years in the West Midlands, while overall crime has gone up by 13 per cent.

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Frontline officer numbers have fallen by 10 per cent over the last year for West Midlands Police, while Staffordshire Police has just 141 officers for every 100,000 people – the second-lowest rate of any police force in England and Wales.

Police funding has also dropped, with police and crime commissioners relying on increases to council tax precepts to bridge the gap left by reductions in Government grants.

It was also revealed police charged a suspect in just one in every ten reported crimes last year, while of the 4.6 million known offences, investigators closed almost half without even identifying a possible culprit.

And readers weren't shy about expressing their views, with many believing the key to cutting crime is longer sentences for criminals.

One reader, calling themselves Ye Olde South Bank Forever, said: "Virtually everyone recognises the simple equation: less cops = more crime.

"However, this is only part of the problem. The police can bend over backwards to get villains in court, yet this country's ridiculously soft approach when dealing with society's pariahs is just as responsible for decent citizens living in fear as the lack of bobbies on the street.

"In many ways, I feel sorry for the boys and girls in blue because their task is certainly an unenviable one. On the one hand, there's too much work to do with too few hands at the pump...while, on the other hand, we have a molly-coddling justice system that betrays their efforts."

Another, under the name A Lone Voice, said: "It doesn't really matter if we have twice as many police officers to arrest wrongdoers if the punishments assigned to these criminals are so soft that they offer no deterrent whatsoever."

A reader from Codsall believes there are not enough officers patrolling the streets and said: "In Codsall our road signs are policed by PCSO and parking shifted to smaller roads to protect the upper class. However you don’t see a soul on Friday or Saturday night when all the drunks are coming out from the pub.

"Smashed glass is norm and litter from the ‘children’ out till 10/11pm the following morning. Drinking also in a public park with glass bottles everywhere. Also it’s like a speedway with motorbikes and boy racers speeding through. Thank you for my rate increase, getting value for money?"

Meanwhile, the role of the elected Police and Crime Commissioner also came under fire. Some have questioned the need for the role, which is filled by David Jamieson in the West Midlands and Matthew Ellis in Staffordshire.

Chaffwolf said: "Commissioner and police chiefs are playing political games with the government over funding. They welcome the bad headlines in the press, as it gives them another opportunity to get on their soapbox, rather than putting in the effort to make things work in the best way possible.

"Both of them are to blame for producing this horrifically poor service to protect the tax payers of this country, and Both should suffer the consequences when the people have their next vote."

Another said: "This was a role that was always going to appear to fail in a time when police budgets were being slashed; a cynical view might be that the role was created to deflect pressure away from the Home Secretary and the Government."