Jackie Pearcey

Liberal Democrat PPC for Bolton West Councillor Jackie Pearcey has condemned the decision by the Government to cap Greater Manchester Police in their share of the Council Tax.  Under a deal with all ten authorities, GMP were to get a 7.5% rise each year for three years specifically in order to bring up police numbers.  Since then, a budget deficit has resulted in police number falling.

Now the Government has capped GMP, deciding that next year they will not be able to increase by more than 1.6%.

Jackie Pearcey said “this is unacceptable interference by the Government.  Because the police were underfunded, mainly as a result of the Government’s funding structure which has already taken £15.5. million away from GMP this year alone, a decision was made to increase funding in order to improve policing.  That has also now been taken away.  Meanwhile, GMP are the second worst performing force in the Country!  It is amazing to think that the Government expect GMP to improve whilst starving them of resources.

“Bolton needs better policing, but it can’t be done for free!”

Donal O'Hanlon

Donal O’Hanlon, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Bolton South East Constituency, has said that questions should be asked of the council and police over a series of arson attacks that have blighted Bolton.

In his latest blog he has said: “Since I decided to think of standing as a candidate for Bolton South East, I’ve been keeping abreast of events normally via the “Bolton News”. The number of arsons reported in those pages is truly staggering. Virtually every other day a new arson occurs to houses, cars, factories, bins or on open ground.

“I understand the fight that the Fire Service have, in trying to move from a reactive service to a pro-active preventative service, but what are the police and local council doing to reduce the numbers? In all the time I’ve been reading, probably once or twice have I seen reference to arson reduction programs. I recommend the public look over the pages in the next few weeks and start asking those who control the Council exactly what they are doing about this Bolton scourge!”

The police post in Westhoughton

Councillor Jackie Pearcey, Liberal Democrat PPC for Bolton West, has hit out at reports that up to 300 jobs will be lost at Greater Manchester Police to balance the books.

Jackie said: “Last year, on the City Council, I raised the question as to whether or not there was a hole in the GMP budget and was assured by the Chair of the Police Authority that there was no funding gap.  Now it seems that they are £5 million overspent.

“The police are thinly stretched as it is.  Freezing recruitment will result in less police on the streets and will harm the fight against crime.”

You can also read this article on the Westhoughton Liberal Democrat website here.

Liberal Democrat PPC for Bolton West Jackie Pearcey has condemned the DNA database as out of control.  The database is supposed to comprise convicted criminals, however it has expanded to include hundreds of thousands of people who have never been convicted, or even charged with any crimes.

Jackie Pearcey

Jackie Pearcey said “There are many children on the database, who have had their DNA taken for trivial matters such as dropping litter.  They are stigamatised by being on this database, alongside rapists and murderers.  Now it turns out that a 1 year old baby is on the database.  There is no crime which a 1 year old baby can commit which could possily justify keeping their DNA on a police database.

“Years back, when police took fingerprints from people who were not suspects, but needed to have their prints eliminated from a scene of crime, these fingerprints were always destroyed after the case was completed.  However it seems that DNA samples are kept forever.  The Government should ensure that when people allow their DNA to be sampled in order to help forensic experts to understand a scene of crime, the samples should be destroyed, like fingerprints used to be.”