ONE OF the United Kingdom’s largest police forces, Greater Manchester, is to cut nearly 3,000 front line and civilian posts – nearly a quarter of its numbers – over the next four years as it battles to cope with funding cuts.
Some 750 civilian jobs and those of over 300 officers will be suppressed by 2012, while officers working in administrative roles are to be moved into the front line to lessen the impact of the cuts.
Details of the first wave of job cuts were announced yesterday, with 750 civilian employees and 309 officers to go by 2012. None of the police officers to leave in the initial stages will be in “front line” policing roles. Many of the jobs will be lost through redundancy agreements, Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy said yesterday, though it is now nearly certain he will force officers with more than 30 years’ service to retire.
The Manchester force, facing a £134 million (€158 million) cut in its revenue from government, is the third largest in Britain, employing 4,150 civilians and 8,000 officers. However, 840 community support officers currently employed are also at risk.
Insisting that front-line services will be protected, the chief constable said: “Although there will be a significant reduction in the size of the middle and back offices, it is clear that over the four-year period there will also need to be a reduction in front-line police officer numbers.”
The Manchester cuts are the largest revealed so far, though Hampshire Constabulary has already announced it will cut 1,400 posts, including hundreds of police officers, as it sheds a fifth of its number to save £70 million.
West Midlands police could lose up to a tenth of its 10,000 officers to save £140 million. Lancashire expects to see a fall of 600 officers over the next four years, while Merseyside will lose about 200 police officers in each of the next four years.
Describing the Manchester cuts as “just the tip of the iceberg”, Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “All over the country, forces are drawing up plans to slash jobs following the coalition’s savage cuts announced in the spending review.
“Tory claims to protect the front line are a sham. Losing police officers, staff and community support officers will see crime rates soar and community safety plummet. Adding to the dole queues will only pile more on to the benefits bill,” he declared.
Labour shadow home secretary Ed Balls said the Conservative/Liberal Democrats’ demands for quick cuts was making it even more difficult for police forces to make well-thought-out savings implemented more slowly.
“People are rightly concerned that cuts of this scale and speed will undermine the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour and take reckless risks with the safety of our communities,” Mr Balls said.
Meanwhile, the UK’s £2 billion legal aid budget is to be cut by £350 million over the next four years. Free legal services will no longer be given for some family and civil cases, while solicitors taking “no foal, no fee” cases will be barred from recovering their costs in some cases.
