Express & Star comment: Police in a desperate situation

We rely on them to uphold law and order, to ensure people are protected from criminals, and to some extent, to see that society functions properly.

But in recent years that level of public support has been sorely tested, as crime continues to rise at an alarming rate.

We are not talking about minor increases, or sudden jumps in crime that are balanced with a fall the following year.

• MORE: Crime on the up across West Midlands and Staffordshire

The crime rate in the West Midlands went up by 10 per cent in 2017, and it has gone up by the same rate again this year.

Violent crime, including knife crime, has gone up by a quarter for the second year running.

Staffordshire has also seen another rise, albeit at a lower rate.

If this situation continues, it will not be long before the region is heading for the same levels of crime as we saw in the 1980s.

We have the utmost respect for our hard-working police officers. They deserve great credit for their efforts to curb the rising tide of crime.

It is hardly surprising that many of them are so frustrated with the job, considering the myriad of issues they are having to deal with on a daily basis.

It is certainly not their fault that those in the corridors of power appear to have completely lost their grip on the entire issue.

We have police and crime commissioners holding up their hands and blaming the Government at every turn.

Yes, our police forces are underfunded, but who is responsible for the mass closures of police stations and custody suites?

Some of the policies brought in by commissioners, while done with the best of intentions, have in a relatively short space of time had disastrous consequences.

Meanwhile the Government crows about a record high funding settlement for the police, which in real terms leaves many forces doing little more than stand still.

So here is our reality in 2019: A police force that can’t cope, and a Government that won’t listen.

What a desperate state of affairs.