Tories claim police facing cut backs
The Conservatives are claiming that some police authorities face serious budget shortfalls that could see them forced to lay off officers.
They say a survey of 18 authorities shows some are facing deficits as big as £19 million, and could have to fire over 100 staff.
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis blamed the Government’s national target-setting approach, saying: “Police authorities increasingly find their hands tied behind their backs by Labour’s centralising approach to policing.
“Reports of funding problems and cutbacks in police forces across the country come as a double whammy for the public who have already paid for their police through the council tax. These cuts can only mean one thing – a poorer standard of policing.”
The Conservatives have pledged that they would fund an extra 40,000 police officers if they came to power.
Their figures come from a survey of 18 police authorities, which showed dramatic variations between the different authorities.
Durham, Merseyside, Hampshire and North Yorkshire reported no problems. Kent, in contrast, is reported to have a deficit of £19 million, Suffolk £6 million and Norfolk £7.8 million. According to the Conservatives, Norfolk claims it will have to lose 113 officers before it makes a saving.
Most of the other authorities surveyed reported expectations of a “tight” settlement, but did not raise specific concerns about redundancies. However, they indicated some cost savings would be necessary if they were to stay within budget. This year’s funding allocations will be announced in November.
The Government, however, says that the number of police officers is at a record high: as of December 2003, there were 138,1555 police officers, a rise of more than 14,000 in under three years.
It has also promised to fund an extra 20,000 community support officers over the next four years.
