Posted on 06/28/2009 7:52:32 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Police forces must cut spending by £480 million this year, prompting fears that officer numbers may fall when increasing unemployment could bring a surge in crime, The Times has learnt.
Forces are reviewing their financial plans after the Treasury raised “efficiency savings targets” from 3 per cent to 4 per cent in the Budget. The annual increase in Whitehall funding for policing was 2.7 per cent and was eaten up by pay rises.
The Metropolitan Police, the largest force, is planning cuts of £366 million over the next three years despite having to prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games. Staff costs account for three quarters of the Met’s annual budget and it has not ruled out a reduction in officer numbers.
One chief constable said last night: “Let’s stop taking about ‘efficiency savings’. We all know the state of the public finances and, on current projections, that means cuts. God knows what happens after the election.”
Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, insisted that the Government would “keep investing” in frontline services. Asked yesterday whether Whitehall departments should be prepared for cuts, Mr Balls insisted that a recovering economy could change the picture. “Let’s wait and see what happens after 2010-11, because we do not know what is going to happen on the economy and debt interest,” Mr Balls told the Andrew Marr Show on BBC One.
“I think if we are deft and we get the economy right we can keep investing in schools, and hospitals and our police at the frontline.”
The estimate of £480 million of cuts comes from the Association of Police Authorities. Bob Jones, its chairman, said that the Police Service had a good record on savings but was being asked to find much deeper cuts. “In delivering these efficiency gains, the easiest savings —
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
The Brits shouldn’t worry. After all, they have their guns to protect them.
Not.
All you need to do is increase police numbers in problem areas and then lock up all the criminal then decrease the police numbers
Oh, and give Brit's their firearms back.
They could try talking to the criminals without preconditions.
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