The Chair of Cleveland Police Authority says they are already ‘on track’ to meet the challenge from the Prime Minister to protect front-line policing.
Councillor Dave McLuckie was speaking after Gordon Brown had reiterated that, despite the pressure on public spending, the Government would protect the money it made available for front-line services—and called on police authorities to match that commitment.
Said the Police Authority Chair “I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister has reiterated the commitment, first made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Pre-Budget report, that Government support for front-line policing will be maintained.
“As for his challenge for police authorities to match that commitment, as far as Cleveland Police Authority and Force is concerned we have already made it crystal clear that we understand the very difficult financial situation we will face in the next few years—and take the decisions needed to maintain the resources for front-line policing on our streets and in our communities.
“That is why last week we considered the measures likely to be needed in the event of the reductions we could face over the next four years...perhaps as much as £30million a year by 2015. Meeting that scale of challenge will require difficult—and radical—decisions over the way we operate...but in Cleveland we are already taking action.
“For instance, whilst no final decision has been taken, the work we have been undertaking on working with a private sector partner for delivering ‘back office’ services suggests we could make very significant savings—and we have also recognised that we need to examine the number of non-frontline activities undertaken by police officers to see if they could be carried out by civilian staff.
“At a time when the headlines are full of stories of public spending cuts meaning huge job losses, we believe that our willingness to consider innovative measures is the best way to protect both the interests of staff and the interests of the public we serve.
Change does not mean undermining the quality of service we provide—certainly not the nonsensical smears carried in some parts of the media last week suggesting that 999 calls could be ‘outsourced’ abroad. We have always made clear that, whatever arrangement we might reach with a private sector partner, our control room and the handling of calls will remain at our force headquarters, carried out by the same staff who currently undertake the job and with command remaining firmly with the Force.
“The Prime Minister has challenged authorities to match the Government’s commitment to protect front-line policing—in Cleveland our actions demonstrate that we are ready, willing and able to do just that.”