Police costs to be frozen

CHESHIRE police and crime commissioner John Dwyer is to freeze the cost of policing the county in the coming year.
In his second police budget since taking office, he says he is focussing on the key priorities of reducing crime and supporting victims but is not going to increase the amount local people have to pay for the police.
He said: “It has not been an easy budget to set as we are still facing cuts in funding from Government, but I have also been mindful that the public of Cheshire are also facing difficult financial challenges, many have not received a pay rise in the last year and so I am not going to increase the amount they pay for policing.”
Since coming into post, the Commissioner has instigated a root and branch review of policing.
His budget for the coming year sets out how the resources will be allocated to the Constabulary to deliver an efficient and effective police service. It also seeks to meet the needs of local policing, to prevent re-offending and continue to make Cheshire an even safer place to live.
This year will be the fourth consecutive year of real terms reductions in Government funding, and the financial challenge is set to continue over the medium term. Since 2010, £35m budget savings have been made and a further £34m savings are needed over the next four years.
The total budget for policing in 2014/15 will be £189.8 million.
A further £9.7m savings have been identified for next year. For example, all major procurement contracts have been reviewed which will save £1.4m. Work is ongoing to ensure that best value for money continues to be obtained.
Mr Dwyer (pictured) added: “However, 80 per cent of expenditure relates to people and so it is inevitable that reductions of this scale will result in fewer people.
“Whilst there will be a managed reduction of officers through retirement and leavers, the budget will allow for the recruitment of 50 new officers next year. This will mean we will not face a problem further down the line when we have no young in service officers coming up through the ranks.
“Unfortunately, there will also be a loss of 70 police staff posts.”
Mr Dwyer is proposing to invest in key priorities, including piloting a new neighbourhood policing model and working with local communities to manage crime reduction and to support victims.
Cyber crime is an increasing problem with criminals using new technology to commit offences including hacking important personal or industry data, fraud, selling illegal drugs and for child sexual exploitation. The Commissioner is proposing to commit additional resources to dealing with cyber crime and to working with partners to safeguard the most vulnerable children and young people who are being sexually exploited or are at risk of being so.
The commissioner added: “The continuing financial challenges cannot be underestimated. The root and branch review has identified a clear way forward to achieving the required savings whilst maintaining and where possible improving services, I have set this budget to try, as far as possible, to meet the policing needs of the people of Cheshire without passing any costs directly on to them”.
The Police and Crime Panel will consider the budget proposals on February 7 and subject to their agreement, the police budget will be set.