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Crime Desk
The number of the uniformed police in England and Wales is now at the lowest level for a decade with police numbers dropping by 6,000. As part of austerity measures a 20 per cent reduction in funding to the 43 police forces is being implemented. A survey of police forces which conducted last year showed that about 16,000 officers would have to be cut by 2015.
More specifically, figures showed a 4.3 per cent decline in the total number of police officers from 141,850 in September 2010 to 135.838 in September 2011.
Simon Reed, vice-chairman of the Police Federation announced that more cuts will follow until the end of the funding period in 2015, even for forces which have successfully passed the first year of cuts. He also expressed his fear that there will be a rise in robberies and minor thefts after years of decline, due to the reduced number of officers combined to the high levels of youth unemployment.
Policing Minister Nick Herbert announced that he would compel forces across the country to merge their helicopter services. By launching a National Police Air Service the annual spending on police helicopters will be cut by £15m a year from the current £70m pounds.
Police personnel should only be measured by the strength and quality of front line policing and not in measured in terms of officer numbers. Herbert added that there are still 25,000 officers in backroom jobs claiming that frontline policing would be protected, and insisted on forces using their resources more efficiently.
Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary accused the Government of putting the public at risk instead of battling to cut crime.
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