27
Jun
2013
By Calvin at 12:42 GMT, 12 years ago
Police Federation
Steve Williams, Chair, Police Federation of England and Wales, says:
“The Police Federation notes that the cuts announced today are not as severe as some predicted – although we still await the exact detail - and that the Chancellor acknowledged the tireless work and dedication of police officers throughout England and Wales.
“However, while we recognise only too well the need for austerity we maintain the police service has already more than played its part in cutting costs having been subject to cuts totalling 20% as a result of the last spending review.
“We would be very interested to hear how the government proposes forces should function with even more scant resources. The police service has already lost more than 12,000 police officers in the last three years and it is inevitable that with these latest cuts officer numbers will fall further and at a faster rate than the drop in recorded crime.
“If this government is committed to protecting counter terrorism policing, as it has indicated, then it must be committed to protecting the entire service.
“Every officer in the country plays an invaluable role in combating terrorism regardless of any specialism. Routine stop checks and enquiries, along with chance encounters while on patrol, represent a tiny sample of the vital functions performed by officers which contribute to protecting the country from terrorism. Even less funds will mean there are fewer officers on the beat carrying out such activities.
“Our members have admirably risen to the challenges of recent years in the face of unprecedented pressure and adversity but have simply run out of room to manoeuvre. More cuts will see morale fall further at the expense of service delivery to the public.”
Source Police Federation: http://www.polfed.org/newsroom/1415.aspx
Association of Chief Police Officers
National policing lead for finance and resources, Chief Constable Nick Gargan, said:
“If we had to achieve the savings directly by cutting posts then we estimate the size of the police service would reduce by an extra 9,000 people beyond the reductions already predicted.
“We hope to work productively with minsters and officials to achieve these savings in other ways.
“The leadership of the police service will continue to be positive and do its best to implement these cuts and make sure the reductions have as little impact as possible on frontline policing.
“However, successive cuts do have a serious impact on police and if this continues some forces will be left at the limit of their viability within a couple of years.”
