Police dispute job loss figures
Thames Valley Police say number of officers on books lower than that stated by inspectors
THAMES Valley Police (TVP) has claimed the number of jobs it is to axe over the next four years is lower than initially thought, following an incorrect calculation published today (Thursday) of its workforce numbers by police inspectors.
Earlier today a report by the HMIC had stated that TVP had 4,434 police officers on its books in March 2010, and that number would be reduced to 4,043.
The force said Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) had included externally funded officers and staff seconded from other forces to carry out national and regional duties in its figures to show the reduction.
Thames Valley Police has disputed that it ever had the number of officers listed in the HMIC document, and said the actual figure was 4,268 in March 2010.
It said the total number of officers cut by 2015 would be 259, 6 per cent of its total, not 400.
Office backroom staff will be reduced by 338, not 459 as previously thought, and the number of PCSOs reduced will be 77, not 47.
HMIC has now added a sentence to its document detailing the cuts which reference the altered figures.
The Government's Comprehensive Spending Review was the catalyst for the move, following an inspection in spring of all 43 forces and authorities in England and Wales.
The financial planning assumptions have already identified £47 million savings, and HMIC are confident that Thames Valley Police and the Authority will be able to make the remaining £5.8 million in the fourth year to total a £52 million cut in budget.
In June the force said it planned to merge traffic police across Hampshire and Thames Valley, which would mean the loss of up to 82 frontline officer posts.
Hampshire Constabulary is trying to save £20m in this financial year while Thames Valley is hoping to slash £12m from its budget.
Last year the force announced it was to merge services with surrounding forces in a bid to save money.
The force said it plans to share forensics, legal services and IT systems with Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex after £3.7m was axed by the Government, as part of a £6.2billion country-wide savings plan.
A number of suggestions to help with the cuts have been agreed, including reductions to agency staff, which would cut around half a million pounds, and overtime and consultancies budgeted will also be targeted, but the force said the cuts will not see a further reduction of police staff or police officer posts.
Across the country around 16,200 police officers will be axed by 2015, alongside a reduction of 1,800 community support officers and 16,100 police staff.
It totals an overall reduction of 14 per cent, the study said.
