Wakefield’s MP Imran Ahmad Khan says extra police could help clean up our city streets

In January, the United Kingdom left the European Union, a promise the Conservative Party had pledged to achieve since the 2016 referendum. 

The government is well on track to hit another of its key manifesto commitments in recruiting 20,000 extra police officers by 2023, and that forces have successfully accelerated their recruitment plans to meet their target of 6,000 more officers by March 2021. 

While these figures are encouraging, a great deal of work is still be done in Wakefield. There are two issues I believe we should use this opportunity to highlight and address. The first painfully visible and the second, often painfully concealed. 

Firstly – we need to clean up our city centre. Drug use and the appearance of drug culture in Wakefield is an increasing problem. The Office of National Statistics highlighted that drug abuse resulted in 93 deaths between 2015 and 2017 – figures that mark a worrying trajectory. 

Despite the pandemic and ensuing lockdown, I’m afraid that addiction’s ugly head remains visible for all to see, particularly around the Cathedral precinct and Little Westgate. It is a far cry from the Wakefield I remember as a young boy and creates an unattractive environment for families, shoppers and investors alike. An increased police presence in the city will be the first of many steps in cleaning up Wakefield’s act and in the coming weeks I will be out on patrol with West Yorkshire Police to make the city centre a better place to work, shop and live. 

More police on our streets provides the chance to clean Wakefield, reducing and prosecuting criminal offences and removing drug addicts from the city centre and helping them find the support they need to overcome their addiction. 

The second key issue I would like to highlight is domestic abuse, where Wakefield has higher than average national figures. We have seen a nationwide surge in the number of reported cases as a result of the lockdown. While I am pleased that the government earmarked an additional £36 million towards the safeguarding of victims of domestic abuse, its salience cannot be understated ahead of the cold months ahead and I encourage the swift deployment of funds to safeguarding authorities.

Coronavirus has already affected all of us so much, it should not act as a smokescreen to inflict further harm and misery on those most vulnerable.  

Police officers across the United Kingdom have worked tirelessly these past months to protect our communities, I would like to express my profound gratefulness for their service during these unprecedented times. Our officers are tasked with an extraordinary job, the loss of Sergeant Matiu Ratana on Friday is both a national tragedy, and a reminder of the monumental risks that all our

officers face.