Cuts will affect ability to restore order
West Midlands Police Federation (WMPF) has delivered a stark warning to the Government saying cuts to police numbers would affect the services ability to protect the public and restore order if widespread riots were to recur.
West Midlands Police Federation (WMPF) has delivered a stark warning to the Government saying cuts to police numbers would affect the services ability to protect the public and restore order if widespread riots were to recur.
The WMPF said this week that due to budget cuts and a reduction in police officer numbers, the response to other incidents would also suffer.
Chairman Ian Edwards said: As we look back on last years riots, it is time to consider how we would cope should there be further disorder. Police officers would, of course, do everything in their power to protect the public, keep communities safe and restore order.
But, we have to remember that our force lost more than 530 officers during 2010/2011 and just under 320 in the past year and that has had an impact on our resilience. The cuts are just starting to bite, an estimated total of almost 780 West Midlands Police officer posts will have gone by 2015. We have not recruited new officers for two years. There will come a time when we will have to concede that we just cant do it all. We cannot provide the same service with fewer and fewer officers and support staff.
Mr Edwards called on the Home Office to reconsider the cuts and also stressed that the potential outsourcing of various police functions must not be done in place of fully-warranted officers.