GOVERNMENT cuts in grant funding will mean fewer police officers in Cheshire.
That is the view of Police Authority chairman Margaret Ollerenshaw after assessing the likely impacts of the cuts over the next two years.
She said: “It is too early to say how many jobs will have to be cut in order to meet the coalition Government’s cuts, but it is clear that there will be considerably fewer police officers and police staff in the future.”
Monday’s funding announcement means the Authority needs to reduce its budget by £24m during the next two years.
A spokesman said: “This is worse than figures announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review in October which required all public services to make substantial cuts in their budgets over four years.
“We need to make more than £35m savings between 2011 and 2015, which is 20% of our budget.
“Cheshire Constabulary is already a low-cost force. Independent value for money studies have shown it to be cost-effective in many areas of business.”
Mrs Ollerenshaw added: “We aim to continue to protect front-line policing services and the public’s priorities as far as possible while making the necessary savings.
“Eighty four per cent of our costs are people-related, so we are looking at all aspects of our business in order to reduce expenditure.
“The challenge that the Authority faces is to achieve the savings while still maintaining the level of service that people in Cheshire have come to expect from a successful police force.”
The spokesman added: “Cuts in other budgets – health, education, highways, courts, prisons – will impact on policing operations because so much of the work the police do is joined up with other agencies.
“We will not have a clear picture of this impact until the new year.”
The Authority will be discussing next year’s police budget at Question Time meetings being held across the policing area in January.
Details of the meetings can be found at www.cheshirepa.police.uk.
