Government urged to stump up for promised boost in South Yorkshire police numbers

That was the message from the county’s police and crime commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, following the general election, which he said had produced “a clear and unambiguous result”.

Dr Billings said: “At least we have the certainty of knowing who the government is for the next five years. 

“From a policing and criminal justice perspective, we also know what we can expect from government, because we have the election manifesto against which we can hold them to account.

“We expect, therefore, additional police officers, over and above those we have already committed to, and we expect them to be paid for by central government. 

“It would have been grossly misleading if the headline election promise had been: ‘You can have more officers’, while privately they were adding, ‘as long as you pick up the tab locally’.”

The Conservatives’ manifesto promised 20,000 “more” police officers, although critics pointed out they would not even replace the 20,500 cut during the past decade.

Dr Billings added: “We look forward to meeting and working with the new home secretary and policing minister and helping them to understand that now South Yorkshire is a good performing force, if further progress is to be made, it needs help in lifting the burden of continuing to pay out of police funds the legacy costs of Hillsborough and CSE.”