Hard pressed crime fighters in Lichfield are fighting a losing battle if
Home Office figures are to be believed. "Lichfield and Staffordshire
have faired far less well than the average for England and Wales and are
disappointing" says Michael Fabricant.

The following figures show the percentage change in recorded offences
across key crime indicators from 2004-05 to 2005-06.

For England & Wales, violent crime has increased by 1%. In Lichfield,
it is up by 2%
Nationally, sexual offences have neither increased nor decreased, but in
Lichfield it is up 11%
Nationally, burglary is down 7%, but in Lichfield down only 2%
Theft from a motor vehicle is up 1% nationally, but in Lichfield it is
up 3%

"But the most worrying figure is theft of a vehicle. In England and
Wales it is down 12% from 2005 compared with 2006, but in Lichfield it
is up by 13%. While I believe matters would have been made worse if
the Staffordshire Police had been swallowed up by the West Midlands
force, these crime figures suggest that more police on the streets are
needed to deter crime. I would urge Staffordshire Police to enter into
voluntary merger discussions with other rural forces such as
Warwickshire or Shropshire and Herefordshire to see whether headquarters
command centres can be merged to free up more police officers in our
towns and villages", says Michael Fabricant.