PCC pushes back at suggestion police presence after fatal Houghton Regis stabbing leaves other parts of county suffering

A councillor has expressed his heartfelt sympathies to the community in Houghton Regis following a fatal stabbing – but voiced concerns about the levels of policing in other parts of Bedfordshire.

Bedfordshire’s police and crime commissioner (PCC) gave an update on the incident in Houghton Regis during the Police and Crime Panel meeting on Tuesday (December 6).

Commissioner Festus Akinbusoye said the incident was “very, very sad news to hear”.

“One of the things that’s been done so far is the police presence has increased since then,” he said.

“I met with one of the town councillors and even he acknowledged that there had been that increase of visibility and patrols. But he wanted to make sure that there wouldn’t be a sudden disappearance of this visibility once things are addressed satisfactorily.

“Of course I can’t give a guarantee of that,” he said.

Councillor Charles Gomm (Central Bedfordshire) thanked the PCC for the update.

“Heartfelt sympathies go out to the community there, the one thing that slightly concerns me, you just said the police presence will stay there,” he said.

“It’s the effect it has on other towns within Bedfordshire, are we still getting a police presence in some of the smaller towns, or are they all being taken up to Houghton? It’s slightly concerning for the residents when they don’t see the police presence yet again.”

The PCC replied: “Naturally what the force will do is to allocate police resources in the areas where the greatest need and demand at the time.

“But I’m not aware of an incident where there is an immediate threat to life anywhere in Bedfordshire where that has been ignored because all of the officers are in Houghton Regis, or as people often say, Luton, for example.

“But if you are aware of any please let me know and I’ll be happy to take that up with the chief. I think it’s important just to bear in mind that the situation at the time was very, very delicate in Houghton Regis.

“It was important just to reassure the public, but also from a point of evidence gathering as well. They needed to do that and you do need boots on the ground to do that,” he said.