HUNDREDS of Merseyside police officers could lose their jobs after the Government announced a further £12.7m cut in funding.

The proposed cutback, announced by Home Secretary Theresa May, could pay to keep approximately 318 extra police officers on the beat for a year.

Merseyside's Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy said: "We have already lost 1,200 police officers, PCSOs and staff due to this Government’s savage programme of cutbacks and we are now being asked to save a further £12.7m next year.

"If these cuts continue as this government plans, I estimate we will be forced to lose 41% of our people by 2018.

"This is completely unsustainable. When will the Government realise that our police service deserves protection and support – if they continue to decimate our frontline services in this way the police service will change for the worse and beyond all recognition.

“Chief Officers and I are now working on the sixth programme of restructuring and cost cutting. It is no longer about reducing teams or increasing efficiency.

"We are now having to make really serious decisions about which services we should lose and there should be no doubt - neighbourhood policing services are at risk.

"No-one on Merseyside believes we need fewer bobbies, yet these cuts are dramatically reducing our forces and will undermine our ability to provide the service that the public expect and deserve."

Merseyside Police is primarily funded by central government, with 82% of the budget coming in grants and only 18% being contributed from the policing element of council tax paid by local taxpayers.

The Commissioner is waiting for an announcement from Communities Secretary Eric Pickles on the degree to which the precept can be increased, but the current maximum rise is 2%. This would generate just over £1million which could be put into the police budget.

Jane said: “The last thing I want to do is ask local people to contribute more money to pay for their police service.

"Even if I ask for the maximum amount I can at the moment, I am still left with a shortfall of nearly £12m.

"All this means there will have to be major changes to the way policing is provided on Merseyside."

Jane added that she will be writing to the Home Secretary to demand she justifies the cuts during the consultation period, which closes on February 2015.