Additional resources for the police force are top of candidates’ pledges for the next Parliament.

Cutting crime is always the ambition, but each of the parties have different views on how to make it possible and, crucially, how to fund it.

Liam Fox - Conservatives:

We are lucky in North Somerset to live in one of the lowest crime regions of England but we all know it isn't like that everywhere.

That is why we are hiring 20,000 additional police officers to keep our streets safe. We have launched a national recruitment campaign overseen by a new National Policing Board and backed by £750million next year.

We are ending automatic early release of the most serious violent and sexual offenders at the halfway point of their sentence which most of the public think is too lenient.

Philip Neve - Green Party:

We need a properly-resourced and well-integrated police force to combat crime, effective punishment, sanction and rehabilitation to reduce re-offending and measures to reduce the need or desire to turn to crime.

I want to see restoration of funding to the police, especially for community policing and crime prevention, ending all private prison services, reduction of the prison population to about half by making evidence-based changes to use more restorative and community sentences, more focus on early interventions with young people to provide alternatives to crime and violence and all combined with drug rehabilitation and skills programmes to give alternatives to ex-offenders.

Hannah Young - Labour:

I worked for 10 years in policing through austerity. Under this Government police numbers have been cut and violent crime is increasing.

While we must provide the police with the resources they need to deal with new threats of cyber and organised crime, what truly keeps people safe are strong communities with well-funded youth and mental health provision.

Labour will fund local authorities to strengthen our communities and rebuild the neighbourhood teams that have been cut most substantially.

We need to fund our justice system properly so offenders can be brought to justice and improve support for victims of violent crime.

Ashley Cartman - Liberal Democrats:

For 25 years, Conservative and Labour Governments have been competing to seem tough on crime, without doing enough to actually prevent it.

We're pledging £500million for youth services and will bring together police, teachers, health professionals, youth workers and social workers to proactively engage young people and prevent them from falling prey to gangs and violence in the first place.

We will also invest £1billion to restore community policing, recruiting and training 20,000 more police officers. We will also ensure prisons deliver rehabilitation and not just punishment.