Margot James congratulates West Midlands Police who have seen a 13% fall in crime to the year ending June 2012 and at the same time reduce their budget.
Margot James (Stourbridge) (Con): Last year the chief constable of West Midlands police, Chris Sims, appeared before the Home Affairs Committee and made a commitment that his force would be able to deliver continuous improvement in crime reduction at the same time as reducing its budget. The results have borne out his early confidence. We have seen a 13% fall in crime to the year ending June 2012, and at the same time the chief constable has been able to reduce officer numbers by 4% and police staff by 6.2%. I think that is a good result for our taxpayers, who themselves are having to do more for less in the private sector.