Forces face battle to keep region safe after jobs go

The deepest cuts will come in 2012-13 when chief constables face the challenge of keeping the region safe at the same time as London's hosting of the Olympic Games heightens the risk of the UK coming under terrorist attack.

Government funding will fall by four per cent in cash terms to 9.3bn in 2011-12, with a further five per cent cut to 8.8bn the year after – reductions described as "challenging" by Policing Minister Nick Herbert.

But police chiefs will be given greater freedom to decide how to allocate the money, with three specific funds being absorbed within the main police grant.

The Neighbourhood Policing Fund, which pays for police community support officers, will be kept until 2012-13 but may be scrapped after directly-elected police and crime commissioners are come into post.

The Home Office will continue to provide specific funding for counter-terrorism, although the grant will fall from 567m in 2011-12 to 562m in 2014-15.

Between 2011 and 2013, Humberside Police will see its grants from central government cut by 12 per cent, while South Yorkshire (seven per cent), North Yorkshire (seven per cent) and North Yorkshire (six) will also see significant reductions.

West Yorkshire Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison said his force would have to cut its workforce by between 1,500 and 2,000 over the next four years. "As a 'people' organisation 84 per cent of our money is spent on staff, so it is inevitable that we will employ fewer people as a result."

North Yorkshire Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell, finance spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said forces would have to work closer together and "ruthlessly drive out inefficiencies".

South Yorkshire Police and Humberside Police said they would only comment after analysing the figures in more detail.

Shadow Home Secretary Ed Balls said: "People should be in no doubt that these deep cuts will mean thousands fewer police officers."