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Met Police will 'scale back' services if numbers drop

New Scotland Yard Press Bureau Met Police Officer on the beatNew Scotland Yard Press Bureau
The Mayor of London predicts police numbers could fall to 27,500 by 2021 under current funding arrangements

The Met Police will have to "scale back" services if officer numbers decrease due to a predicted funding squeeze, Scotland Yard has warned.

Police numbers could drop to 27,500 by 2021 - the lowest level in 19 years - according to a report by City Hall.

If numbers were to drop, the Met Police may have to "become less proactive" Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey said.

A Home Office spokesman said: "There are more officers for each Londoner than anywhere else in the country.

"The Government has protected overall police spending in real terms since Spending Review 2015, and has also announced additional funding for counter-terrorism policing."

The Met Police's budget will be flat in cash terms from 2016/17 to 2019/20, under the current Spending Review.

But the Mayor of London's team calculates the Met has had to make £600m of savings and will lose a further £400m by 2020 due to rising costs.

Jack Taylor/Getty Images Deputy Commissioner Craig MackeyJack Taylor/Getty Images
Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey warned the Met Police will have to "scale back" services if staffing is reduced to one officer per 326 Londoners

Their projections predict police numbers in London could fall to one officer per 326 Londoners - a 26% decrease since 2010.

Mr Simmons said: "If we do face a scenario of 27,500 officers by 2021, we will have to reduce or stop some things.

"We may have to scale back our response - both on the phone and on the ground to concentrate on the biggest emergencies."

While performance "hasn't always been better when we have had more resources" there is "a limit to how much we can save without impacting the front line", Mr Simmons added.