Obsession with targets leads to rise in serious crime

12.34.24pm GMT Tue 18th Nov 2008

Oldham area Liberal Democrats have described the news that serious violent crime has risen in the last ten years as "disturbing".

The head of the Home Office, Sir David Normington, admitted in a leaked document that there are now more serious offences such as murders, serous assaults and rapes than there were ten years ago.

It has also emerged that less than half of serious crimes are now solved by police, down from around three quarters a decade ago.

Elwyn Watkins, Liberal Democrat PPC for Oldham East & Saddleworth, said: "This disturbing news is the direct result of Labour's obsession with targets. The police are less able to concentrate on violent crimes because they have been instructed to focus on minor crimes to hit their targets and improve government statistics.

"You just cannot run everything from London. Police must be able to do their job locally and focus attention where they know it is needed, not be tied to their desks by red tape and bogged down by an obsessive targets culture."