Police chief 'may have to cut 200 officers'

A chief constable says he may be forced to cut 200 officers and staff unless his force receives extra funding.

Ben-Julian Harrington from Essex Police said his force was facing a £34m shortfall in the next financial year, the vast majority made up of staffing costs.

"To put it bluntly, the books don't balance," Mr Harrington said.

The Home Office said the police funding settlement would provide Essex Police with £406.2m over the next year.

Mr Harrington said having saved £42m in the past five years, his force "has squeezed the lemon pretty dry".

He said he had written a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper - co-signed by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, Roger Hirst - to raise concerns about the financial position.

He said there could be a "reduction of about 200 officers" due to the budget shortfall, but that no decisions had been made.

He said he needed £418m to balance the books next year, but even with £11m from raising the council tax precept, plus the force's share of £264m announced by the Ms Cooper, "the maths simply doesn't add up".

"We'll still be here, protecting and serving the people of Essex, but there'll be less of us," Mr Harrington told the BBC.

"I don't want to scare people, but that's a real consequence of the budget settlement as I understand it to date.

"This is not 'fag-packet maths': this is audited accounts, properly scrutinised.

"We know what we're talking about, we know what it costs, and if you don't give me the money, I can't do all the things that the public would want me to do."

Essex Police currently employs 3,755 officers. Losing 200 would represent a cut of 5.1%.

Mr Harrington also cited heating, lighting, fuel and buildings as ongoing costs, and said the force had spent almost £1m on kennelling this year due to changes in the law regarding dangerous dogs.

"To kennel a dog is £35 a night – it was £20," Mr Harrington said, adding that the force was kennelling about 145 dogs currently.

He said his force may be less able to deal with lower-level crimes, such as anti-social behaviour, if cutbacks were made.

"Perhaps a neighbourhood officer might be there in a couple of days; they might not be there for a week," he said.

"They might not be able to deal with some of those things that are no less important to the people who report them, but are perhaps less priority if you compare them to deaths or prevention of more serious and violent crime."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The police funding settlement for next year will cover the annual pay award in full and give forces more money to recruit officers and keep our streets safe.

"The home secretary has already announced an increase of over half a billion pounds of central government funding, with a core grant increase of more than £260m.

"This overall increase also includes an additional £100m to reinvigorate neighbourhood policing and restore a visible presence of officers to our streets.

"Further funding and details on the overall settlement will be announced in due course."

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