Sir David Crausby is preparing to raise concerns with the Home Office about local policing in Bolton.

The Bolton North East MP met with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Chief Superintendent Stuart Ellison on Tuesday to discuss concerns about crime in the community.

Chief Superintendent Ellison is the divisional commander for the Bolton, Bury and Wigan.

Sir David said: “I’m concerned about the level of crime that can’t be adequately dealt with.”

He said that a growing number of his constituents have been contacting him with concerns about drug dealing and anti-social behaviour in Bolton.

In a tweet on Tuesday morning, the MP said that, despite government cuts to local policing, residents still deserve an appropriate response to their concerns.

However, following the meeting, he said that this is not a criticism of the police.

He said: “Greater Manchester Police had eight thousand police officers and now they have six thousand.

“It makes a big difference. It’s not okay.”

GMP had 6,237 officers in September 2017, compared with 7,992 officers a decade earlier.

Sir David also said that, although he supported the two per cent pay rise for police officers, he worries that it would result in a fewer officers because the pay rise would have to come from existing budgets.

He added: “I think the police recognise that things are not as good as they should be.”

According to the MP, when the police force had eight thousand officers, they said they needed ten thousand, but since then, police numbers have only been cut.

The Labour MP said that the issue is not as simple as a reduction in police numbers and pointed to cuts across other services too like the NHS.

He said: “We have cut back too far. I’m going to raise the issue with the Home Secretary. It’s just not good enough.”

After the summer recess, Sir David plans to put forward a question for Home Office Questions when MPs have the opportunity to raise such issues at the House of Commons.

He said that he will spend the summer in Bolton speaking to constituents about their concerns.

He was particularly concerned about members of the public ringing the police and not getting a response, but wanted to make sure that he understood the problems from GMP’s perspective too.

Sir David said: “What I don’t want to do is have a go about our police officers without speaking to the police.”