AN increase of crime since 2014 has divided opinion in the political world.

A new report says that crime has increased since 2014, although it has decreased over the last 20 years.

Labour are accusing the Government of being to blame for the increase in crime, with leader Jeremy Corbyn pointing to Theresa May and Amber Rudd for having "cut 21,000 police officers from our streets."

However Ms Rudd, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, dismissed the idea there are not enough officers on Britain's streets, claiming the evidence "does not support this" as she also pointed to police funding being protected.

She said: "While I understand that police are facing emerging threats and new pressures - leading us to increase total investment in policing - the evidence does not bear out claims that resources are to blame for rising violence."

Ms Rudd said the illegal drugs market was changing and appeared to be the "biggest driver" of the increase.

She contradicted a leaked Home Office document which blamed the rise on falling police numbers.

Surely an increase in illegal drugs in the country could also be down to the lack of police presence however.

The public certainly feel safer with more police officers on the street and bobbies on the beat seem to be decreasing all the time.

In Worcestershire, it is fair to say that the police service still place a huge emphasis on police officers being in the town and city centres.

This was highlighted by Superintendent Kevin Purcell on his last day working in South Worcestershire, saying this had been one of his key aims during his time as the Superintendent.

I do think that reducing the number of police officers on the streets will always cause increases in crime.

There is the idea of being smarter with resources, however, it comes to a point where even the most efficient of police services struggle because they do not have enough staff and I think there are certainly police forces around the country which have this problem.

It becomes a dangerous cycle.

The increase in crime means more lenient punishments as the prison system cannot take as many prisoners. This leads to weaker deterrents and even more crime.