Crime victims seeking emergency help are waiting up to 50 per cent longer for assistance compared with three years ago with response times increasing by an extra couple of minutes . Analysis of Home Office figures show that in areas such as Bedfordshire as well as Devon and Cornwall , response times are now at least 50 per cent longer than they were three years ago . In Essex and Kent , crime victims are waiting up to a third longer for a response . Police response times in some areas have been increased by up to 50 per cent because of funding cuts . Labour 's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper , pictured , claimed the victims of crime were being put at risk . According to figures released to the Labour Party under the Freedom of Information Act , across England and Wales , average 999 response times have increased by 17 percent . In Bedfordshire the average response time has increased from seven to 11 minutes . Crime victims in Cambridgeshire and South Wales wait on average 14 minutes . Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said : '999 waits have gone up significantly for the most serious emergencies and that means victims are being put at risk . 'This is the direct consequence of of Tory police cuts , yet now they want to go even further . ' In an effort to reduce the pressure on the 999 system , the government introduced a 101 number to report less urgent crimes such as antisocial behaviour , drug dealing , car theft and petty vandalism . The number of police officers across England and Wales has fallen by 17,000 since 2009 with several forces planning even more extreme reductions . The Metropolitan Police is one of the only forces in the country which has been able to keep front-line officer numbers at earlier levels . Steve White , chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales said : 'What we are seeing are the dangers of the governemnt cutting the police budgets so harshly over the last five years . It can come as no surprise that victims of crime are now having to wait significantly longer for police help to arrive . 'There are now 17,000 fewer officers and 17,000 fewer police staff around - what does the government expect to happen ? 'Cuts have consequences and the politicians must start backing the police service . Otherwise , despite the best efforts of officers , victims of crime are going to have to wait longer and longer for police attention . ' However , the Home Office dismisses the criticism claiming that crime levels are continuing to fall .
Some crime vicitms are waiting up to two minutes longer for a response . There are now 17,000 fewer police officers across the country than in 2009 . The number of people on parole and probation has increased by more than half since 2008, with many offenders returning to prison after serving their sentences.