Liz Truss: South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner responds to Truss police targets promise

Dr Alan Billings, who has been the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire since 2014, thinks this is a mistake and will lead to perverse and unwanted consequences.

He said: “Superficially, we might wonder what is wrong with the idea of targets for policing.

“But we in South Yorkshire know very well what happens when police are given targets for particular offences – they switch resources, time and effort into those crime areas and start to neglect others.”

More Politics: Sheffield Council runs out of reserves as it faces financial cliff edge and service cuts

When targets were set in the 1990s and early 2000s it led police to concentrate on the target crimes and turn away from others in particular child sexual abuse.

Dr Billings said: “I urge Liz Truss to think again and learn the lessons of the past before it is too late. In addition, if the minister wants to see more work by forces on particular crimes, this will require funding.”

More Crime: Company faces fine after trapped eight-year-old boy was found dead on building site

Dr Billings worries about police budgets, with plans to enforce lots of things but with no mention of budget from Truss saying “she is willing the ends, but not the means”.

Cybercrime was not mentioned on Truss’ target list, something Dr Billings fears will be missed and forgotten about if new rules from Truss come into action.

He said: “We all want criminals put away, but this is not the way to do it.”