Police chief may shed his most senior staff to cut costs

North Yorkshire Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell wants to be the first police chief to impose retirement on officers with more than 30 years' experience.

The bold move, which has also been considered by Yorkshire's three other police forces, would form part of a money-saving strategy to shed 200 officers and 350 staff over the next four years, the Yorkshire Post understands.

It comes as police forces across the country wait to hear from the coalition Government how much their budgets will be cut by from April next year.

Ministers have already announced plans to reduce the policing budget by 20 per cent in real terms by 2015, but chief constables will only learn on Thursday precisely how much they have to spend in 2011-12.

Police officers cannot be made redundant because they are servants of the Crown, but next week Mr Maxwell will ask North Yorkshire Police Authority to invoke a police pension regulation, A19, which would give him powers to forcibly retire any officer of chief superintendent rank or below on the grounds of "efficiency".

Details of its potential impact are included in a briefing note circulated to members of the North Yorkshire Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers.

The paper, written by federation branch chairman Mark Botham, follows a meeting with the force's Superintendents' Association and senior managers in November.

The meeting considered proposals drawn up by Mr Maxwell and his fellow chief officers to use A19 and abolish other schemes which enable officers with more than 30 years' experience to continue serving without losing out on their pensions.

The briefing note states: "We were advised that, if implemented from April 1, 2011, over the next four years there will be a reduction of 200 police officers and at least 350 police staff.

"In terms of police staff, that takes us to a similar level to that achieved under the Command must Structure Review in the early 1990s.

"In terms of police officer numbers, it takes us to a level potentially lower than at any time since the force was formed."

The Yorkshire Post understands that North Yorkshire was among 27 police forces who sought legal advice on the issue in July 2010. "We are not the only force in the country doing this," the paper states, "but if we press on we will be the first to implement it."

The paper warns that England's largest county would be served by a dwindling number of officers at a time when its population is expected to grow by more than a fifth in some areas by 2033.

Staffing in CID is said to be "already very much below the national average" while the number of cannabis factories discovered in the county has soared by 1,200 per cent since 2007-08.

Chief Constable Mr Maxwell said: "In line with all public sector organisations, North Yorkshire Police has to make significant financial savings over the next four years while still delivering the best possible service to our communities.

"In order to meet this challenge we are looking at restructuring our organisation so that we can continue to deliver to the public within the financial constraints we face.

"This will inevitably mean that we have to do this with fewer people being employed by the organisation."

The region's other three forces have all considered the move, but hope to reduce staffing levels through natural wastage.