Member of Parliament for Reading West, Alok Sharma, and the Home Secretary, Theresa May yesterday praised Thames Valley Police’s response to the Reading Festival which saw almost a 50 per cent reduction in reported crime since last year. A total of 232 crimes were reported at this year’s rock festival, compared to 411 last year.

Speaking in Parliament during Home Office Questions on the 12th September, Alok asked: “Will the Home Secretary join me in congratulating Thames Valley police on halving crime at this year’s Reading festival compared with last year and, more generally, on demonstrating that it is possible to protect visible front-line policing while finding budget savings?”

The Home Secretary responded: “I thank my hon. Friend for his question, to which I am very happy to respond, not least because I could hear Reading festival from my home even with the doors and windows shut. A significant number of people attended that event, which has had problems with crime in the past, so Thames Valley police are to be congratulated on the work they did this year to reduce crime. The Thames Valley force is a very good example of a force that is committed to ensuring that it retains front-line and response policing while also cutting costs by, for example, collaborating with other forces.”

Speaking after the Parliamentary session, Alok said: “Regrettably, as a consequence of the budget deficit left by the previous Labour government, police forces up and down the country are having to find savings in their budgets. However Thames Valley Police has made clear that it will not cut the resources committed to neighbourhood policing and patrols and is instead finding savings by removing management layers and collaborating successfully with neighbouring police forces in key areas to save back and middle-office costs, as well as sharing costs on IT, air support and dog training.”