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| Police forces will struggle to make further cuts, says watchdog | Police forces will struggle to make further cuts, says watchdog |
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| Five police forces in England and Wales will find it especially difficult to cope with further budget cuts after 2015, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has warned. | Five police forces in England and Wales will find it especially difficult to cope with further budget cuts after 2015, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has warned. |
| The official police watchdog says the Bedfordshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Northamptonshire forces will struggle to meet a demand by the home secretary, Theresa May, for further savings of 4.9% or £269m in 2015-16. | The official police watchdog says the Bedfordshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Northamptonshire forces will struggle to meet a demand by the home secretary, Theresa May, for further savings of 4.9% or £269m in 2015-16. |
| The HMIC report says Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire police have already made significant cuts and now have few options left. It says the South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire forces have taken the easy option of relying on short-term savings rather than "transforming their efficiency" and the Northamptonshire force will struggle to rectify significant performance issues at the same time as making further cuts. | The HMIC report says Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire police have already made significant cuts and now have few options left. It says the South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire forces have taken the easy option of relying on short-term savings rather than "transforming their efficiency" and the Northamptonshire force will struggle to rectify significant performance issues at the same time as making further cuts. |
| The 43 forces in England and Wales have already had to absorb a 20% or £2.4bn reduction in their Whitehall funding since the austerity programme ordered by the coalition government came in summer 2011. | |
| The HMIC says that halfway through the three-year spending review period there has been a good response overall from forces to the financial challenge. Most have plans in place to balance their books by March 2015 and have already made the vast majority of workforce reductions planned for the whole cuts period. | |
| The latest figures show that 14,186 police officer jobs have been lost since the last general election. The HMIC report says that while forces have plans to reduce frontline officer numbers by 6,600 by March 2015, the proportion in frontline roles of those left is expected to rise from 89% to 93%. | |
| But the watchdog also expresses concerns that neighbourhood policing teams have been asked to take on more response and investigative roles at the expense of crime prevention work. | But the watchdog also expresses concerns that neighbourhood policing teams have been asked to take on more response and investigative roles at the expense of crime prevention work. |
| The inspectors are also concerned that some forces have missed the opportunity to lay the foundation for long-term savings, such as by collaborating with the private sector or other forces, and this may damage their effectiveness in the face of further cuts. The report says that only 18 of the 43 forces expect to deliver more than 10% of their savings this way. | The inspectors are also concerned that some forces have missed the opportunity to lay the foundation for long-term savings, such as by collaborating with the private sector or other forces, and this may damage their effectiveness in the face of further cuts. The report says that only 18 of the 43 forces expect to deliver more than 10% of their savings this way. |
| Technology that is available to officers and could deliver savings also remains poor with the police frustrated by out-of-date systems and equipment. | |
| HM inspector Zoe Billingham said HMIC had found considerable variation in the approaches taken by forces: "In some cases, this leaves us with concerns about how some forces will manage in the face of further cuts. We also have some concerns that neighbourhood policing risks being eroded as forces change how they deliver local policing. Finally, there are missed opportunities. The overall progress on collaboration, which is driving major efficiencies in some forces, is deeply disappointing," she said. | |
| Tom Winsor, the chief inspector of constabulary, said it would be necessary for the police to "work smarter": "That will include greater measures of collaboration between forces and with the private sector and other parts of the public sector. It will also mean using modern technology to make the very best use of police time, keeping officers on the streets, making people safe, and not spending time in the police station using outdated technology in inefficient working practices." | |
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