A North East police boss was forced to defend her efforts to combat poverty after they were labelled a “cheap” vote-winner.
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Kim McGuinness recently unveiled a new ‘Fighting Poverty, Fighting Crime’ policy, pledging to focus on the root causes of offending by tackling deprivation and unemployment. But the rebranded plan came in for criticism on Monday morning. Andrew Shepherd, an independent member of the area’s Police and Crime Panel, told Ms McGuinness that it was “not your business” to fight poverty.
Mr Shepherd said that he “absolutely” understood the link between poverty and crime, but insisted it was not the Labour PCC’s remit to combat it and asked what direct impact Ms McGuinness’ new policy would actually have on Northumbria Police’s operations. He added: “I think you are setting yourself a task that you are not resourced nor equipped to take on. You are setting yourself up for a fall.
