Spending cuts put smaller police forces in jeopardy says HMIC Serious concerns over the erosion of neighbourhood policing and the viability of some police forces in England and Wales following austerity spending cuts have been voiced by the official police watchdog. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary says that a similar round of spending cuts repeated in the future would put some smaller police forces in jeopardy within the next three to five years. The report by Tom Winsor, chief inspector of constabulary, on the impact of £2.5bn of austerity cuts over the past four years says a national debate is needed on future collaboration between forces and with other public services. The report says the 43 police forces in England and Wales have calculated that they need to find £656m in savings in 2015-16. The inspectors say that there is no immediate end in sight to the substantial cost reductions. If this pattern continues over the next three-year spending round, they have substantial concerns about the ability of some smaller forces to withstand the anticipated budget reductions while maintaining an effective service to the public. The inspectors say the limited options to implement fresh cuts would inevitably drive some forces to make deeper savings in neighbourhood policing and they may struggle to respond to unexpected events such as riots, demonstrations, multiple murders or kidnaps. The inspectorate, in its fourth report on the impact of austerity cuts on policing, says most forces have risen to the challenge over the past four years by finding £2.5bn worth of savings while protecting their frontline crime-fighting capacity as best they can. theguardian/uk-news/2014/jul/22/spending-cuts-police-forces-jeopardy-watchdog-report
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 08:31:06 +0000
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