Cuts in police spending threaten services

A report has warned that government cuts to the police service are likely to mean the loss of 5,800 front-line police officers over the next three years. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has warned that three services could be unable to carry out their duties as a result.

So what's happening, and is it safe?

The cuts

The report, from HMIC highlighted that since the cuts began in March 2010, there have already been 17,600 police jobs axed. The plan is to increase this total to 32,400 jobs to be lost by 2015 in order to meet the target of cutting spending by 20%.

The idea was that these would come from civilian staff jobs and non-front-line staff where possible. However, the report says that 5,500 officers that are "visible and available to the public" have gone - including 2,700 frontline officers. Over the next three years that will rise to a total of 5,800 from the front line.

Impact

The report has revealed that the effects are dramatic. Apparently a fifth of all police stations will no longer be open to public access. Instead there will be central points in which to contact police as part of other public services - such as libraries.

Meanwhile, as forces are having to merge, specialist community officers are being absorbed into police investigations. And in their place, there is an increasing use of volunteer special constables. There are now said to be 9,000 in action in the UK.

The report said: "In our professional judgment (and having considered local context, including police cost to the taxpayer), there is a risk that three forces may not be able to provide a sufficiently efficient or effective service for the public in the future," namely Lincolnshire, Devon & Cornwall, and the Metropolitan Police.

Riots

The report admitted that as yet, the public were largely unaware of the changes. The policing minister, Nick Herbert, said: "This report makes it clear that the frontline of policing is being protected overall and that the service to the public has largely been maintained. The proportion of officers on the frontline is increasing, the number of neighbourhood officers has gone up, crime is down, victim satisfaction is improving and the response to emergency calls is being maintained.While there are particular challenges in three forces, we know that the vast majority are rising to the challenge of reducing budgets while protecting service to the public."

However, there are questions as to whether it would make the police less resilient in the event of a major incident such as the riots of August 2011.

A joint study by The Guardian and the London School of Economics today found that police officers expect there to be more violence of the same order, but are increasingly concerned about how the cuts have affected their ability to deal with it.

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