FURTHER police staff roles are set to be cut across West Mercia as the force continues to battle funding shortfalls.
Just months ago, in June, after the force announced redundancies in non-policing staff roles which have made ‘significant savings’, West Mercia says its £8 million budget gap ‘must be addressed’.
West Mercia’s PCC, John Campion, and chief constable, Richard Cooper, broke the news to their workforce yesterday (Thursday, August 14) but have not confirmed how many roles will be affected.
The pair said Government funding is not keeping pace with inflation and a growing demand on its services.
An underestimation of its costs, alongside a recent pay deal for officers, an uplift in policing numbers and those reaching higher pay points, continues to put strain on the organisation’s budgets.
Whilst the Police and Crime Commissioner, along with other PCCs and Chiefs around the country, has reached out to the Home Office to stress the financial strain in policing in general, they say this isn’t a solution for this current situation. The Home Office has not responded publicly to calls from forces across the UK.
Chief Constable Richard Cooper said: “The difficult decision we have made, to make further police staff redundancies, is certainly not something we would choose to be doing.
“Protecting people from harm remains our absolute priority. We absolutely stand by our commitment to the neighbourhood policing guarantee.”
Action needed
Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said: “I want to reassure our communities that action is being taken to address these issues and ensure that the force is able to continue delivering an efficient and effective service and keep communities safe.
“The Chief Constable and I are making best use of all the resources and flexibilities we have at our disposal. But it is not enough.
“Let’s be clear. There are wider, fundamental issues around how central funding is distributed to police forces that hasn’t been fixed by the current, or previous, Governments.
“This unfairness, that I have raised on a number of occasions, has exacerbated the current challenges we face.
“In addition, there are growing mandates from the Government dictating how we should spend the grant we receive for our police force, communities and their needs.”
