[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-18341410

The loss of hundreds of police officers following funding cuts has contributed to a rise in crime, Lancashire Police's acting chief constable has said.

Chris Weigh told a meeting of Lancashire Police Authority that his force was taking 513 police officers off the streets.

He said this had led to an "inevitable" increase in the number of offences.

The force, which has an annual budget of £287m, has to save £42m over four years.

Mr Weigh said: "Operation Julius was designed to tackle burglary spikes last year. How much longer can you continue to deploy Julius-type operations when resources are falling?"

Figures released in April showed serious acquisitive crime rose 8%, house burglaries were up 8.4%, vehicle crime was up 6.4% and assault without injury was up 15%.

That's just ONE county - I suspect there will be many others with similar rises due to Cameron's Cuts, but it's likely that Oxon, particularly in the Chipping Norton area, may not be having the same problems .....