Tax rises and job cuts as police at 'tipping point'

Residents could pay more for policing as a force warns it has already cut community officer numbers to urgently balance its books.

Avon and Somerset Police is continuing to reduce its number of PCSOs (police community support officers) and civilian staff, and hopes to raise its council tax share to protect frontline officers.

"Even with the maximum precept we will still have savings to make in this financial year of £6.4million," Chief Constable Sarah Crew told BBC Radio Bristol.

The force faces a deficit of £48.3million over the next five years.

It spends nearly two fifths of its time dealing with people in mental health crises and just a quarter focusing on crime, Ms Crew added.

Staff posts have already been reduced over the last 18 months, Ms Crew told the BBC's John Darvall, "and we have tried to do it without hitting a redundancy situation", she said.

Staff roles cut include police staff investigators and PCSOs.

"We are trying to get to a position where when people leave and move into other posts we are not filing them and then we are reorganising how we work to manage without those posts," she said.

About 250 of 2,800 support staff roles have been reduced over the past 18 months, "and out of 282 PCSOs we are working to a position where we will get to 230," Ms Crew continued.

"We are confident that we will maintain our officer numbers, which are 3,291."

The force, which is about to set its budget for next year, is looking at raising the police precept to the maximum it could charge.

That would mean an extra £14 a year charge for the average band D property.

Ms Crew, who has led the force since November 2021, said just 25 of each 100 incidents or requests that come to its officers are related to crime.

"We come into policing because we want to target crime, a good nearly 40 per cent of our time is spent on what we call concern for welfare."

Ms Crew said the police are continuing to focus their efforts on the biggest cases like that of missing Bristol student Jack O'Sullivan.

"I as a chief constable have taken a personal interest in this case, I've received briefings, I've made sure that not only is there a very senior oversight of it, I've taken a personal interest in it," she said.

"It's an ongoing investigation, it's still very much live. It's been very in depth, it's been very exhaustive and that continues."

Jack's family lodged a formal complaint into the police's handling of the case last year.

"There has been a thorough and an extensive review of that investigation," Ms Crew added.

"I know people – not least Jack's family – are concerned about the way that it's been conducted and that has been by independent experts including the National Crime Agency."

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