In their alternative budget for Cambridgeshire County Council the Lib Dems have proposed spending £350 thousand in 2009/10 to fund extra police officers to work in communities across the county. They would increase this to £750 thousand in 2010/11.

This money would be specifically to support communities and to target anti-social behaviour and prevent it becoming a continuing nuisance. It would fund either PCs or PCSOs which ever would be considered most appropriate. It might also be used to support the recruitment of special constables.

This extra resource would not be managed by the County Council but the funds would be made available to the Police Authority under the umbrella of Cambridgeshire Together.

Lib Dem County Councillor David Jenkins who presented the Lib Dems alternative to scrutiny this week, said: ‘there is little doubt that more police on the street is the best way to prevent crime. that’s why we would be willing to fund an increase in the number of officers. The payback from crime prevention is far higher than that for catching criminals after crimes have been committed’