Police staff cuts needed to make £3.2m savings

Lincolnshire Police will make staffing cuts across the board after revealing £3.2 million must be shaved from costs in the financial year to March 2020.

Staff were previously told jobs will be cut in new year with the government’s announcement in December of the funding settlement for the force.

Decisions are being made following the final budget approval at Friday’s Police and Crime Panel meeting.

Staff cuts

• Core police officer numbers will reduce by 40 to 1,060 (this will be achieved by only recruiting up to 1,060 when replacing those who resign or retire)
• PCSOs will need to be reduced to 85 from the current 118. Lincolnshire Police said they hope that some of those reductions will be achieved by PCSOs being selected and trained to be officers and fill some of the officer vacancies as they arise during the year
• Support staff employed by the force will be cut by 10%. This will amount to approximately 30 posts. The roles that will go are still being considered
• Strategic partner to the force G4S will be making reductions which amount to £1 million
• Various other initiatives such as reducing overtime, the vehicle fleet and scrutinising other key support functions for further savings will be ongoing.

Chief Constable Bill Skelly said: “In the Force Management Statement I published in September 2018 I predicted that we would need to make some tough choices.

“Friday’s meeting has effectively confirmed that we will need to make £3.2 million of savings during the financial year to March 2020.

“Whilst this is not as bad as the £6.9 million we had predicted it will still mean across the board reductions and consequently a reduction in the service we are capable of providing.”

He added: “We have made significant savings over several years and are working hard to increase our efficiency by investing in technology to provide a safe policing service to Lincolnshire.

“We are continuing to press for increased investment in the next government spending review to address the disadvantages of a historically unfair funding formula and to allow us to continue to provide the best service to the people of Lincolnshire.”

Unfair deal for Lincolnshire taxpayers

Chair of Lincolnshire Police Federation Jon Hassall said: “I repeat my comment after the Force Management Statement was published last year, that the taxpayer in Lincolnshire does not get a fair deal and police officers are breaking because of the strain on them.

“The prospect of losing 40 officers from our already stretched front line is certainly going to undermine our ability to continue to deliver a quality service to the people of Lincolnshire. We will need to be completely candid about what we will no longer be able to do for them”.