Cuts mean policing is no longer as effective

POLICE officers are no longer able to provide the professional and effective service they would like to deliver thanks to austerity and cuts, Northumbria Police Federation has warned.

Jim Gray, Federation Chairman, was speaking after a national newspaper quoted the chief constable as saying “the point of not being able to deliver a professional service was very, very close”.

But the situation is worse than that in some areas, Jim said: “I think the Chief Constable’s assessment is absolutely right. In fact, some officers would say we’re already gone past the point of being able to deliver the service we’d like to deliver.”

23% funding cuts have had a devastating impact on the force and the service it can deliver, Jim added.

Northumbria Police has lost 900 police officers since austerity measures were brought in in 2010 and demand on the remaining members continues to grow, he said.

“As I have had to say many times before, and will continue to say, we are doing far more now with far fewer officers. And now we are doing that in the context of a pay award which actually strips away more money from local budgets and reserves.

“The reality is that we’re going to face even more demands on officers because of the necessary cuts in resources and services that we can deliver, due to the force having to find the money to pay for the so-called ‘bonus’ element of the pay award. So for me what the Government has done has actually exacerbated the situation even more, under the banner of a pay award.”

Speaking ahead of the Great North Run earlier this month, Chief Constable Steve Ashman told a Newcastle city council meeting: “If the day of not being able to provide a professional service was here, I would say. It is not here, but it is getting very, very close.”

To see the Guardian article in full, go to: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/08/police-chief-constable-says-professional-service-at-risk-from-budget-cuts