The lad was the fifth person fatally stabbed in six days in London alone as gang killings spiral out of control.
Police were urged to spend less time probing incidents such as online insults.
A senior MP warned: “The thin blue line is wearing thinner with potentially dire consequences for public safety.”
The public's faith in the police is at breaking point – furious MPs stormed last night – as they revealed 75 per cent of emergency call outs are now “non-crime” related.
In a damning indictment on the state of our cops, a report said overstretched officers were being swamped by work on prevention, missing persons and mental health incidents.
And they demanded the Government release more cash to the front line or face up to “potentially dire consequences” for public safety.
The cross-party Public Accounts Committee said police numbers had fallen by 50,000 or nearly a fifth since 2010-2011 with the knock-on effect that arrests were down and it was taking longer to charge someone.
But the MPs warned people were losing faith as police were increasingly being forced to spend huge amounts of work on non-crime issues.
They said only 24 per cent of emergency or priority incidents last year were “crime related”. Some 12 per cent are for anti-social behaviour.
In the report the PAC added…
- Devon & Cornwall Police claims 80 per cent of their work is now on safeguarding and non-crime related activities.
- 8 in 10 calls taken by Merseyside Police are non-crime related. The force has restructured its burglary and robbery squads because of cuts.
- Police forces are dealing with thousands of mental health incidents a month because of cuts to the NHS.
- There are fewer breathalyser tests, fixed penalty motoring notices, less neighbourhood policing.
- The proportion of crimes resulting in charge or summons has fallen from 15% in March 2015 to 9 per cent in March 2018 – and the time taken to charge an offence has gone up from 14 days in March 2016 to 18 days.
- Some two-thirds of forces claim there is a shortage of investigators.
Nearly two thirds were around missing persons or responding to car accidents as other agencies were unable to respond.
The report came just days after Met chief Cressida Dick last week ordered police to prioritise burglary and violence over hate crime – and refocus on “traditional values”.
Gang-related deaths have soared since the Met, led by Commissioner Cressida Dick, slashed searches from 700,000 in 2008 to 100,000 last year
Ex-Foreign Secretary mayor Boris Johnson added to calls for cops to stop and search more suspects to tackle the gang crimewave.
PAC chair, Labour’s Meg Hillier last night demanded the Government act or see public confidence in policing shot to pieces.
She said it defied belief the Home Office still had no complete national picture of the ‘demands’ placed on our police.
And she slammed the Home Office for failing to revise the funding formula for the 43 police forces across England and Wales.
Ms Hillier added that cops were now more likely to be signed off with stress or anxiety than a physical injury.
She stormed: “The ‘thin blue line’ is wearing thinner with potentially dire consequences for public safety. Public confidence and trust that the police will respond is breaking down.
“Funding reductions of nearly a fifth have placed severe strain on police forces, which have in turn been forced to cut back. The results are stark.
“The messages from communities and police forces across the UK are clear. The Government must act now.”
The report comes amid growing fury that police are being asked to investigate hate crimes such as misogyny while violent crime soars.
The Met on Monday launched an “army” of hundreds more police officers onto the streets after a wave of fatal stabbings in London.
Chancellor Philip Hammond announced £160 million extra for counter-terror cops in the Budget – but he said decisions on wider police funding would have to wait until next year’s Spending Review.
Labour’s Louise Haigh yesterday warned police numbers would fall further to the “lowest level on record” if the Government pushed ahead with plans to overhaul public service pension schemes.
Forces have been told to find an extra £165 million in 2019-2020 and up to £417 million more in 2020-2021 to top up pension schemes.
And the Home Office has signalled that the 43 forces in England and Wales will need to budget for the extra costs.
Met Police have confirmed that another young man, thought to be in his teens, has been stabbed on the streets of London.
It happened on Billy Fury Way in West Hampstead just a couple of a hours ago – his condition isn't yet known.
Searching saves lives
FEWER young black men’s feelings have been hurt by being stopped and searched but many more are dying in knife and gun attacks.
It’s common sense that criminals, regardless of their colour, will carry weapons if they know police won’t search them on the streets.
Police policy is allowing gangs to carry knives with impunity and kill each other.
Forces like the Met are favouring the recruitment of young people who can’t see the damage being done and who agree that stop and search encourages racism.
I fear many more families will be mourning until this situation is reversed.
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