Police force set to axe over 900 jobs
Review of force will see 400 frontline jobs axed
THAMES Valley Police (TVP) is set to axe over 900 jobs, including 400 front-line officers, in a bid to save £52 million over the next four years.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said it is facing its biggest financial challenge in a generation as it unveiled the cuts in a review document today (Thursday).
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.
HMIC has said it is confident Thames Valley will cope with financial challenges, as it prepares to axe 400 officers, 459 police staff, and 47 police community support officers, totalling around 10 per cent of the force's total workforce.
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.
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.
