Police in England and Wales are taking 'days' to respond to calls that should be dealt with in under an hour, a new report on police effectiveness has said.
What it means: Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) – woah that's a mouthful – has argued that police are under increasing stress. There's more demand for police – things like a rising terrorist threat, for example, and less money and less police to fulfil that demand.
According to the Guardian, police budgets have fallen by around a fifth since 2010. HMICFRS said police forces will have £700m less a year in the coming years, as well as fewer officers.
The government's promised more money – although this week Theresa May was officially told off by the UK statistics agency, the Office for National Statistics, for misleading MPs over where that money was going.
But Labour is saying that it demonstrates that spending cuts are putting public safety at risk.
Learn more about how governments decide how to spend their money
Read the full story (The Guardian)
