Council reject proposal for extra police in Merton

A funding proposal to put two more police officers on Merton’s streets for the next 3 years has been rejected by Labour councillors.

Lib Dem Cllr Paul Kohler said:

“Unlike Theresa May, we know there’s a link between crime and police numbers and we therefore wanted to replace some of the police officers that we are losing in Merton owing to cuts from the Mayor and central Government. It was very disappointing that Labour and Merton Park Residents Association councillors would not support our proposal, preferring to stick to a dogmatic position that flies in the face of residents’ concerns”.

You can watch Paul’s speech about the amendment here on  YouTube.