A POLICE inspector said last week: Knutsford needs more police.

Inspector Martin Forshaw told the Knutsford Guardian that he agreed with residents' concerns over policing in the town.

"I know we need more police on the streets of Knutsford and I can understand why residents feel they are losing out," he said.

"In an ideal world I'd have a policeman guarding every street corner. It would be wonderful to go back to how it used to be, but things have changed dramatically over the past 20 years."

The Macclesfield-based inspector, who worked as foot patrol officer in Knutsford for seven years, blamed increasing demands on officers for the lack of policing in town.

Recent Home Office figures suggest the number of police officers in the country has increased by 5% in the past 25 years, compared to a 211% increase in demand on police resources. "Those figures are pretty self explanatory," said Inspector Forshaw.

"We're having to deal with 200% more issues with nearly the same number of staff as 25 years ago. To have any chance of doing that we have to prioritise and residents can be sure there are priorities in Knutsford."

Thefts

Inspector Forshaw's views on the state of the town's policing came after a resident criticised a recent crime initiative at Mere Golf and Country Club.

The woman told how she had recently seen three officers wandering around the golf club car park, leaving warning leaflets for drivers who had left valuables on show. "I appreciate it is a useful scheme but there's no need for three officers in one car park," said the resident, who regularly plays golf at the club. "They would have been better off walking around the town centre trying to catch the thugs that hang around there."

But on Friday Inspector Forshaw said the crime prevention scheme would be tackling other car parks in the town, where there had been a notable increase in car thefts.

"I agree it would be better to have officers on the streets tackling crime," he said. "But if they had not been to the golf club you can guarantee a thief would have been there instead. The police simply can't be everywhere so we have take a different approach. For us that is crime prevention. If we can educate residents to not leave valuables on show, then it will deter thieves from breaking into cars, which will benefit everyone."