Lib Dems pledge more police officers for West Yorkshire

12.19.03pm GMT Mon 2nd Mar 2009

Figures released by the Liberal Democrats today show that the West Yorkshire Police Force could get an extra 362 officers if the government scrapped its plans for ID cards and use the money to recruit new front-line officers.

West Yorkshire currently has 5,864 full-time equivalent police officers and is the only force in Yorkshire which is currently growing. Across the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber, the number of police offices dropped by 126 between September 2007 and September 2008. Under Lib Dem plans that number would increase by 819.

Cllr David Ward, chair of the Bradford North Area Committee said,

" ID cards will cost at least £5.5bn and are already costing £100,000 a day. Issuing ID cards involves creating a huge database which contains 50 pieces of personal information and biometric data on each person. The biometrics are unreliable and the Government has shown that it can't be trusted to keep data securely.

It makes much more sense to use the money to increase the strength of the police force which will, in turn, reduce the fear of crime."