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Fears for Olympics as police forces make cuts
SECURITY at the 2012 Olympic Games could be jeopardised by a cut in police spending, the top officer in charge has warned as forces consider bringing back retired officers to help ease the pressure.
South Yorkshire Police chief Meredydd Hughes is responsible for co-ordinating the national policing for the London games and says there are fewer officers in some key specialist fields than will be needed.
And he is warning these numbers may shrink further if plans for some forces to amalgamate units, including firearms squads and sub-aqua teams, get the go-ahead.
Those plans are being considered because police budgets from the Government over the next few years will be lower than the rise in real-world spending and senior officers are seeking to preserve day-to-day policing by cutting costs in areas which get comparatively little use.
Mr Hughes is now in talks with other chief constables and their ruling police authorities to try to avoid such changes.
Another plan under consideration would be to invite officers in some specialist roles to stay on beyond their retirement date, or brought back into service on a limited contract to provide extra cover.
Any agreement would have to be worked out with police staff associations, but if it goes ahead it could open the door to a new regular policy of former officers returning to use their skills where needed for special events or to address particular problems. For example, former motorcycle police could be brought back for summer work on rural roads where recreational motorcyclists push up numbers of crashes.
Work has started to establish how many extra specialists, such as personal protection firearms officers, anti-terrorist staff and dog handlers will be needed for the games and how many are currently available.
Mr Hughes said: "We know there will be gaps, we don't know the scale of the problem yet.
"A big issue has to be, in a time when most police forces are feeling the financial pinch, they have to make hard decisions. The temptation must always be to make sure that local policing is maintained and seek cuts in those specialist functions which are often not required on a daily basis.
"My greatest fear is that financial constraints will lead police chiefs to make decisions which are in the best interests of their local community, but not in the best interests of the country as a whole.
"We don't yet know how we will increase the numbers of specialist officers. We are looking at a variety of options. Simply training more would be one option, but what do we do with them at the end? An alternative is looking at those who would leave, or retire, on a temporary basis.
"The way we use officers will have an effect way beyond the Olympics. We are going to need to think creatively about using officers. When we have done it for the Olympics, we can do it every year."
Part of Mr Hughes's role is to ensure "business as usual" is maintained within Yorkshire forces for the duration of the 67-day event.
"Whilst others in London are planning the detailed security for the Olympic stadium, part of my job is to ensure that business as usual can continue across Yorkshire," he said. "We are looking at our patrol and response strategies."
That could include the increased use of special constables and Police Community Support Officers alongside the suspension of some training and restrictions on leave.
A 600m budget has been allocated for the games, from a range of different sources to pay for the cover needed. But a decision has already been made that local authorities wanting to offer training camps or events for the Cultural Olympiad will be required to re-imburse forces for any policing needs.
The only exception will be where teams considered a high risk, such as Americans, are involved where the issue will be open to negotiation, with a possible knock-on effect for council-tax payers.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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