LETTER: We need to fight these changes to police cuts

Our esteemed MP, Andrew Bingham, in his column seems to have played down the seriousness of the changes in police cover soon to affect this area.
Sheffield Stock Pic - Community Support Officers patrol the city centreSheffield Stock Pic - Community Support Officers patrol the city centre
Sheffield Stock Pic - Community Support Officers patrol the city centre

And I am surprised that all he has done is to contact the Police and Crime Commissioner, who will no doubt give a wishy-washy excuse based on the usual litany of ‘costs’.

I understand the High Peak will be left with only two police officers assisted by PCSOs (who have no power of arrest). All other police will be relocated to work from Chesterfield. We have seen from the proposals to base our ambulances at Chesterfield that this is cloud cuckoo land.

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What is scandalous is that the changes are about to be implemented by stealth, ie there is to be no public consultation.

Our new Police and Crime Commissioner has been reported to want to engage local communities. Is this the way to go about it? We may well be relatively crime-free at present, but when the word gets round among the criminal fraternity that we have no cover, there is no doubt that we shall suffer.

This seems another nail in the coffin for the High Peak, which is the ‘forgotten’ area as far as Derbyshire is concerned, since it seems nothing happens north of Ripley.

We need to fight these changes vigorously. They are totally unjustified and leave us vulnerable.

S. E. Wyatt

Hayfield