Jobs axe threat as cash for police cut

YORKSHIRE’S police chiefs admitted they would have to cut jobs and work more closely together after the Government announced funding for policing would be slashed by a fifth in real terms over four years.

Police spending will fall by four per cent each year, but the Treasury said increasing the police precept at expected levels would reduce real-terms budget cuts to only 14 per cent by 2014-15.

The Home Office will reduce overall resource spending by 23 per cent over the same period.

Police officers, as servants of the Crown, cannot be made redundant but all four of the region’s forces are expected to cut staff positions.

South Yorkshire chief constable Meredydd Hughes confirmed he was in talks with his force’s governing authority about setting up a staff severance scheme.

Voluntary redundancies are already under way at Humberside Police and North Yorkshire Police began a similar scheme earlier this week.

The region’s forces have already decided to work together to maintain their fleets, buy equipment and carry out forensic investigations from next year, but the cuts make further collaboration increasingly likely.

Mr Hughes said: “These areas are really only the start of the potential collaboration that could take place.”

North Yorkshire chief constable Grahame Maxwell said: “One thing that remains clear at this time is that we will have to operate with a smaller workforce. However, North Yorkshire Police are committed to protecting front-line service delivery as far as we possibly can.”

Humberside chief constable Tim Hollis said there was bound to be a reduction in head count “because 82 per cent of our budget goes on people”.

West Yorkshire Deputy Chief Constable David Crompton said his force faced one of its “biggest challenges” for a decade.