Chief constable says cuts may leave police struggling to cope

Meredydd Hughes is set to warn the county’s Police Authority that officers will be left to deal with more offenders as other “partner services” shrink as a result of savage cuts.

At the same time the force is also facing severe cuts to its own spending, meaning that there may be fewer officers to deal with the criminals who are not being supervised by other agencies.

In a report to the authority, which oversees the work of the chief constable and his officers, Mr Hughes says that while crime has consistently fallen in recent years, the trend may not continue.

He says: “There is no doubt the expectations of the Government around maintaining and improving performance are going to be challenging if not unrealistic.

“It is hard to predict how our current and future savings plans will affect our performance in respect of crime.

“Over and above these cuts, there are a number of other issues which may well affect policing. Those include the cuts in services by other organisations, thereby placing additional demands on the force.”

The chief constable says so-called acquisitive crime is likely to rise alongside an increase in unemployment as people turn to stealing to maintain their standard of living.

He also says that cuts in council youth services are likely to lead to more crime committed by youths on the streets.

Mr Hughes says: “It is unlikely that the force can continue to see the levels of reductions in crime that we have seen in recent years.

“In fact, the pressures outlined are more likely to cause an increase in certain categories of crime, particularly acquisitive crime.”