Chief tells
of huge pressure on forces to cut back

Tim Hollis, who retires at the end of the month after eight years leading Humberside Police, said the combination of policing reforms and changes to society could “impact on our community in a way that I am not convinced anyone fully understands”.

The South Yorkshire-born chief constable has been widely praised for helping to turn round the force from its position as one of the worst in the country when he took over in 2005.

His predecessor David Westwood retired a year early amid criticism of Humberside Police for intelligence failures over Soham murderer Ian Huntley.

Mr Hollis said when he took over at the force it was “down and out, morale was down and its reputation was very low”, but since then crime has fallen every year.

He said: “As a chief, as a leader, it has to be enormously satisfying to take a force and put it back where it belongs and leave it in good fettle where it is looking at some good results.

“Ten years ago there were over 140,000 victims a year in Humberside and today it is half of that. That is the reality.”

Mr Hollis admitted that cuts to police resources, with forces nationwide needing to make £2.4 billion in cuts by 2015, would be a major challenge for his successor Justine Curran, the first woman to lead Humberside Police.

The force currently has fewer officers than at any other time in its history and recently saved £500,000 a year by scrapping its mounted section.

He said: “Today the police service is more professional and ethical than it has been in my 35 years but it is under enormous pressure.

“I have never known so many changes happening simultaneously in the whole of policing from the national to the regional to the local.

“When you add into that changes to education, to health and to local authority budgets, all this has the potential to impact on our community in a way that I am not convinced anyone fully understands. There is a risk that the cumulative effect may be greater demand on policing.

“The pressure will be on police and crime commissioners and chief constables working together. We have got some big cuts to make.

“Where do we reduce the cost of policing in a way that doesn’t damage the fabric of policing and what the public values, neighbourhood policing in particular, but at the same time enables you to protect the public.”

Hull MP and former Home Secretary Alan Johnson paid tribute to Mr Hollis, who started his police career in 1977, describing him as “one hell of a good copper”.

He said: “I am a big fan of Tim. He set about transforming a police service that was noted for coming bottom of most of the league tables.

“It was very much to do with his leadership.”

John Blanchard, chairman of the Humberside Police Federation, which represents rank and file police officers, said Mr Hollis had been an “outstanding chief constable”.

He said: “Where we have disagreed we have both understood each other’s viewpoint and come to a mutual understanding. He has been firm, fair, everything you want from a copper.”