Police schemes threatened as forces struggle to cut budgets

Road safety schemes, speed awareness courses, alcohol awareness workshops and teams who help victims of youth crime may also disappear as chiefs try to overcome deep budget cuts.

South Yorkshire Police has warned that even its speed camera network may have to be wound up unless vital funding continues, but that outcome seems unlikely.

The services at risk are paid for by specific grants, mainly from councils, which police forces receive on top of their annual funding settlement from the Home Office. In North Yorkshire, the total value of these grants has more than halved in two years – from about £15.3m in 2009-10 to less than £7.5m this year.

Decisions on many of the schemes are still to be made, but senior officers are already drawing up plans to handle the worst-case scenario. Having to scrap the projects could also leave forces facing large bills because of redundancy and redeployment costs.

South Yorkshire’s temporary Chief Constable Bob Dyson has revealed that his force faced total liabilities of almost £3m over the next three years if all funding was removed. In a report to South Yorkshire Police Authority, he explained that grants secured by the force had fallen from £18.5m in 2009-10 to an estimated £14.6m this year.

He wrote: “A large amount of the inward investment obtained by South Yorkshire Police is used to fund either police officer or support staff posts and therefore there are potentially significant risks to the force if the funding is withdrawn.”

South Yorkshire expects to lose eight PCSOs in Barnsley because the town’s council has indicated that it will cut funding by 30 per cent. PCSOs in Sheffield are also paid for by council grants.

Other roles which may go include dedicated officers in schools across the county, Sheffield-based workers who handle football banning orders and a victim liaison officer from the youth offending service in Doncaster.

Specific grants to North Yorkshire Police have fallen to their lowest level for at least seven years, but the force said it had prepared for the cuts.

A spokesman said: “For 2011/12 and beyond, a number of what were formally targeted grants were incorporated into the overarching police grant.

“Forecasts for future income from targeted grants are included in the analysis made of the overall funding environment for North Yorkshire Police.

“These have been taken into account during the development of the financial plans which are in place for the period of the current Comprehensive Spending Review.”

The region’s other two forces, West Yorkshire and Humberside, were unable to provide specific figures.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “Whilst the budget reductions will be challenging we do not consider them to represent Doomsday scenario.”

However, it adds to fears that council cuts could end many crime prevention schemes.

The Yorkshire Post revealed last September that parts of the region had seen reductions of up to 75 per cent in funds for community safety partnerships which fund organisations trying to stop crime and anti-social behaviour.