The Chair of Cleveland Police Authority has today warned that ‘very tough challenges and decisions’ remain ahead if standards of policing for local people are to be maintained in the face of major financial cutbacks over the next few years.
Mr Peter Race was responding to reports issued today by her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary assessing how authorities and forces across England and Wales are planning to deal with cuts in Government funding totalling over £2billion between now and 2015.
The HMIC found that in Cleveland ‘the force and authority showed clear understanding of the scale of the financial challenge facing them and have considered a full range of options in developing a plan to meet it.’ The report also highlights the ground-breaking arrangement with private sector partner Steria for the provision of a wide range of support services.
Said Mr Race “Obviously reports of this kind take some time to prepare and in fact the figure given by the HMIC of £23.1million as the cash reduction we need to make over four years is a slight under-statement…the latest figure is in fact £24.6million.
“That is an enormous amount of money to find and we have made significant progress in delivering savings, particularly, of course, through the Steria Partnership, which is set to generate savings of £50million over the ten years of the contract.
“Through a wide range of measures, including releasing as many officers as possible from ‘back office’ functions, we believe that we can maintain frontline services to the public despite an overall reduction in numbers.
“The minimum number of officers required to maintain the quality of service is, we believe, 1,500 but as the cuts start to become increasingly severe over the next few years maintaining that level will be tough. We have made a strong start in delivering savings and improving efficiency but, as the HMIC report recognises, that work will have to continue.”
Acting Chief Constable of Cleveland Police Derek Bonnard said: “The cuts that have been imposed on the Force and Authority are unprecedented, and our commitment remains to protecting frontline services. The Force has taken some tough decisions, such as releasing officers with at least 30 years of service, and there are more difficult decisions ahead if we are to make the savings that are needed. We have a long term co-ordinated plan in place and we are working to this to ensure we are able to deliver the best possible service to the public and we aim to maintain the significant successes of recent years that have placed Cleveland Police as one of the top performing forces in the country.”