Crime warning as police face cuts

About 16,200 police officers will be axed by 2015, and there are warnings that could lead to a 3 per cent increase in crime rates

Published: 5:09am, 21st July 2011
Updated: 11:57pm, 21st July 2011

Crime rates could jump as one in 10 police officers is axed under Government spending cuts, an official inquiry has warned.

Rank and file officers said "our worst fears" had come true after being told more than 34,000 police jobs will be lost as part of the austerity drive.

About 16,200 police officers will be axed by 2015 amid warnings that crime could rise by 3%, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said.

Officer numbers will sink to their lowest level since 2001/02 as forces face "their biggest financial challenge in a generation", and protecting frontline policing will be "very challenging" over the next 18 months, inspectors found.

Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said police forces will struggle "to keep their heads above water as they try to deal with increasing demands and diminishing resources".

He added: "This will fundamentally change the way we police our communities, and an almost inevitable consequence will be a rise in crime rates as the population continues to increase and police numbers fall."

Up to 1,800 community support officers and 16,100 police staff will also go as part of an overall reduction of 14%, the study of 43 forces across England and Wales said.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the potential loss of 2,500 frontline officers was an "irresponsible gamble", while Labour leader Ed Miliband said he was "shocked" by the report and added: "I think that really raises big issues for our society and big issues about how we ensure that we give people confidence."

The Government responded to criticism by saying it is cutting out "needless bureaucracy", with crime and security minister James Brokenshire saying police "can and are rising to the challenge" by reducing costs from the back office.

He added: "HMIC predicts that by March 2012 the proportion of the police workforce working in frontline roles will be higher than it was in March 2010."