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Cuts in police numbers as purse strings tightened
12:33pm Friday 4th July 2008
Comments (2)Epsom can expect cuts in the number of police officers on the street after a Government decision to restrict Surrey's spending on its police over the next three years.
While the police budget increased by 6 per cent for the financial year 2008/9 tax payers faced a rise in the police precept of 9.7 per cent to make up for the lack of funding from the Government.
“We now have £1.9m less than we had planned. This will have significant operational implications.”
Mark Rowley, temporary Chief Constable of Surrey Police
The local government minister John Healey announced last week he would cap the three-year policing budget for Surrey by "nominating" the authority.
It means that the Government, while allowing this year's police budget to stand, will impose spending reductions in following years.
Peter Williams, chairman of Surrey Police Authority, said: "We are concerned about the possible impact of longer term restrictions. This is a serious issue and we will carefully consider what the full impact of the decision is before responding. We are, however, pleased that the Government has now ruled out the possibility of an expensive and counterproductive process of rebilling in Surrey."
Mark Rowley, temporary Chief Constable of Surrey Police said: "We now have £1.9m less than we had planned. This will have significant operational implications."
Crispin Blunt, MP for Banstead and Reigate said: "The blame for the crisis in Surrey's police funding must be squarely laid at the Government's door. Surrey has the most efficient police force in the country despite the unique challenges it faces. Surrey also pays out a huge amount to central funding in taxation. Yet the Government is still content to force cuts on the force.
"On this occasion they have even undermined the principle that Surrey taxpayers can choose to use local resources to fund their own force."
The Government decided to cap the budget in a determined attempt to keep rises in council tax under control.
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Dave, Epsom says...
9:53am Sat 12 Jul 08
“We now have £1.9m less than we had planned. This will have significant operational implications.”
It wouldn't have significant operational implications if money was not wasted. Walk past Esher police station and look in the rear yard. Not unusual to see at least 10 police cars sitting there with nothing to do. Replicate that around the county and there's a few quid that can be spared by not having so many vehicles.
Also why do they need their own helicopter?
Another waste of money is issuing practically every single officer, beit PC, Special, PCSO and vast numbers of staff with business mobile phones. All funded rather nicely by the good residents of Surrey.
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G.Virr, Sunbury Common says...
1:26pm Fri 4 Jul 08
But note the council tax-payers have paid up and will not get their hard earned money back.
Every penny counts to a lot of people, not only pensioner's.
The Surrey Police Force squanders money at every turn.
We do not need the Policing Surrey magazine. We do not need to have resources wasted visiting children nurseries. We do not need Community Support Team newsletters. We do not need leaflets showing us their smiling faces distributed to every household. We do not need wads of the same leaflets dumped in Health Centres, particularly when half the patients do not live in that police teams area. That's just a few economies that the Surrey Police Force could make for starter's, without looking at the money they have squandered on expensive useless signs over the doors of their, or should I say our, police stations.
With all that obvious waste of money and resources the response of the Acting Chief Constable for the Surrey police Force, on hearing his budget might be capped, was that he might have to cut back on anti-terrorist activities.