Policy Hub
A report published on 26 January 2010 by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee contends that, faced with the prospect of funding cuts, the police service will have to fundamentally re-think the way it provides back-office functions in order to support the front-line. The report claims that across the board the service needs more support from government to allow it to find new ways of maximising service levels and efficiency, such as involving the private sector or exploring force mergers.
Although figures provided by forces in England and Wales show overall rises in both the number of police officers and the number of police staff employed across the service in the past five years, these figures vary significantly in both countries, with 13 forces reporting a reduction during the same period. On the basis of provisional financial information from the government, some forces are planning to cut officer numbers in the next financial year. The position after 2011 is unclear but all forces believe they will have to make significant spending cuts.
The police service’s commitment to protect front-line policing, which incorporates the kind of visible policing activity so valued by the public, is praised. However, there is a limit to the efficiency savings that can be made from rationalising back-office support, given that almost 88% of police budgets are spent on the workforce.
The report recommends that forces should pursue innovative means of service delivery that can allow them to operate with a reduced workforce if necessary, commenting that now might be the time to review the entire means by which money is allocated to forces.