Police force set to shed 139 officers

The force, which currently employs 1,999 warranted officers and 2,112 staff including PCSOs, needs to save about £24m over the next four years.

Plans to shed the posts, which will be deleted when officers leave or retire, will be considered by force watchdog Humberside Police Authority on Tuesday.

The cuts have sparked concerns about community safety and the force’s ability to fight crime.

Former police authority chairman, Coun Colin Inglis, said: “It’s very disappointing that the gains of the last 10 years are gradually being taken away. It’s not the chief constable’s fault or the police authority’s fault, but it gives the lie to the Government’s claim that frontline services won’t be cut; they are going to be cut and cut in a big way.”

The authority is due to decide its budget and staffing levels at a special meeting on Tuesday, February 15.

It has been told to cut 20 per cent of its budget over the next four years, and plans to do this by yearly cuts of between four and eight per cent.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Leaver said: “The force and authority have worked hard to develop a plan which will reduce the impact to operational policing whilst allowing us to hit the required central Government savings targets.”