NORTHUMBRIA Police will have a further £21m wiped off its budget this week.
Police authority members will meet to agree the latest round of force cuts following on from last year’s £17m budget reduction.
The spending cuts include a freeze on the authority’s share of council tax, but this comes alongside a £19m raid on the force’s bank funds – leaving just £9m for emergencies.
The cuts will see £7.4m saved from police costs by reducing the number of officers by 123 posts.
Some 66 civilian staff will go, saving the authority £5m. Around £3m has been set aside to cover redundancy costs with the authority saying jobs will be lost through “natural wastage”.
Northumbria Police has already spent £11m on redundancies.
Mick Henry, chairman of Northumbria’s Police Authority, will be asked to put together the reduced force budget as a result of the latest Home Office cuts.
At an authority meeting this week, Mr Henry and other board members will be told of a series of departmental cuts set to hit the force.
This includes nearly £4m taken from officers’ overtime and shift allowances as a result of the Government-backed Winsor Review. Forensic science staff will see £1.3m taken from their budget, with nearly £1m taken from officer training.
Mr Henry said: “Northumbria Police Authority is facing unprecedented budget cuts.
“However, we have a three-year plan to spread these reductions and we are working very closely with the Northumbria Police force to make sure the impact on residents across the area is as limited as possible.
“Our first priority in this is to ensure that vital frontline services are protected as much as they can be.”
And the hard work of setting affected budgets does not end here. The authority has been told it must still find £33m of further savings for the next two years, with the likelihood of further job losses or a recruitment freeze.
Last night chief constable Sue Sim said: “While there is no denying that these are uncertain economic times, I am determined that people will continue to receive the visible policing services they need and want.
“Our success in reducing crime and disorder while increasing public confidence and satisfaction cannot be compromised – indeed we are working to improve our services while balancing a reduced budget.”
Mrs Sim added: “I have given a commitment to protect, as far as possible, the numbers of officers involved in 24/7 response, neighbourhood policing teams, detectives who support neighbourhoods, and the community support officers who patrol our neighbourhoods so the people of Northumbria will not see fewer officers out and about in their neighbourhoods nor fewer marked police vehicles patrolling.”
