UPDATED: Concern as Merseyside police numbers tumble (From Wirral Globe)
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UPDATED: Concern as Merseyside police numbers tumble
4:40pm Thursday 26th July 2012 in News By Leigh Marles, Editor
Concern as Merseyside police numbers tumble
The number of police officers patrolling Merseyside has tumbled by more than 200.
Police numbers in England and Wales have fallen to their lowest level in nine years, new figures have shown.
In March of 2011, Merseyside had 4,297 officers - but by March of this year the figure had dropped to 4,083, a loss of 214 officers and representing a 5% cut in total.
Wirral South MP Alison McGovern said the reduction was “really, really worrying.”
She said: “I meet regularly with Wirral officers and they have warned that after a certain point, they will not be able to provide the level of service they would like.
“The local force is excellent and operates to a highly professional standard, if this was to be reduced I would be very critical of these cuts.
“As usual the Government is cutting too far and by too much.”
Under new legislation, Merseyside will soon have a police commissioner in charge of fighting crime.
Labour’s prospective candidate, the former Wavertree MP Jane Kennedy, said: “These cuts are reaching dangerous levels where the police are telling us it’s going to have a serious impact on their ability to tackle crime.
“After three years of these cuts, there will be 400 fewer Merseyside front line officers and a third fewer police stations.
“The Home Secretary has to change course, go back to the comprehensive spending review and consider Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary’s suggestions for saving money without affecting front line police services.”
Wirral West Conservative MP Esther McVey said: “Despite the unfortunate reduction in police numbers, which is Labour's legacy, Wirral and Merseyside still have one of the highest police per population ratio in the country.
"Recent figures indicate that crime is still falling across Merseyside."
Ms McVey said Merseyside Chief Constable Jon Murphy recently was able to report that crime had fallen by 8%; anti-social behaviour was down by 16%; response times remained the same and public confidence up by 5%.
She continued: "These really are tremendous results and credit has to go to each and every member of the police force.
"Dedicated neighbourhood teams will continue to be the cornerstone of our policing style and delivery, and Wirral and Merseyside police will strive to continue to improve levels of engagement and consultation with local people.
"Effective policing cannot be delivered in isolation; it relies on excellent working relationships with partners and the community, combined with resources, knowledge and experience.”
There were 134,101 officers in the 43 police forces at the end of March, more than 5,000 fewer than the previous year and fewer than at any point since 2003, according to the Home Office data.
Only Surrey has seen an increase in its number of officers over the 12 months to March, rising 4.7% from 1,885 to 1,974.
The biggest drop came in Derbyshire, where police officer numbers fell 10% from 2,021 at the end of March last year to 1,819 12 months later.
Merseyside Police have been invited to comment.
Comments(10)
Enough already !
says...
8:00pm Thu 26 Jul 12
Just how long can it be continually claimed results are improving whilst all along staff numbers are falling too.?
Just what is the base-line figure of staff required for a police force (Merseyside) to function, and any number below that requires those staff have to take mandatory training in spinning plates, or the public are issued with do-it-yourself kits?
There's only one winner, the criminal !
johnbrace
says...
10:41pm Thu 26 Jul 12
1) Morale is affected as people wonder about their "job" security.
2) More mistakes are made that can have long term reputational consequences for the organisation
3) A "quick fix" solution is looked for rather than a long term solution.
4) Public confidence goes down in Merseyside Police so fewer people bother to report crime.
5) The replacing of the Merseyside Police Authority with another body (plus elected Police and Crime Commissioner) creates uncertainty about the future.
6) The workload is spread across fewer people leading to dissatisfaction..
7) Response times get slower which leads to less criminals being caught.
8) However it's not all doom and gloom if you're a criminal!
hugo2008
says...
8:49am Fri 27 Jul 12
One statistic very often quoted is that at any one time only ONE police officer out of every 10 is actually on duty, but nobody ever explains why.
Can anybody actually publish the difference between the top salary paid in relation to the bottom salary paid within any police force, including the Met.
My findings are that the top paid 18% of police officers, actually absorb more than half of the total wage bill in any single police force, now that cannot be a sensible set of pay scales.
WirralAl
says...
10:13am Fri 27 Jul 12
Criminals and people that cause 80% of the problems will not cut back and the situation will only get worse.
They need to imprison the people who do actually cause the problems and impose very large fines on the people that cause anti social misbehavior instead of just giving them a little ticking off.
I would much rather see more Police that the Olympics and the Billions that has cost.
Prevention is better than cure.
RL 1952
says...
11:17am Fri 27 Jul 12
Despite what happens the Police always appear to have enough officers to manage their "road side revenue collection teams" that target motorists on a regular basis often on wide roads that do not warrant such Police input, and then of course we have the regular pusuit training on the Wirral where 2 cars and several officers race around the residential areas playing cops and robbers potentially compromising the safety of local residents. Because of course these officers are only training and therefore have no proven proficency in this art!!!
PaulCa
says...
5:38pm Sun 29 Jul 12
But....what's this? She was absolutely nowhere to be seen when there was rampant learning disabled abuse and disability discrimination going on against vulnerable Wirral people, right under her nose, and for a period of NINE years.
How can this be so? Because it was Wirral Council involving her own party locally.
Despite a pressing need for local MPs to take up the fight on behalf of those who couldn't, nothing but deafening silence came from Ms McGovern's corner.
She seems to pick her fights.....the ones that suit.... and defending disabled people, or even acknowledging abuse went o, or vowing that it was unlawful and must change.... was just too much for this politician.
Enough already !
says...
8:58pm Sun 29 Jul 12
The chaps and chapesses are in fact training in a controlled environment and qualify to drive after some considerable weeks behind the wheel and having spent numerous hours studying and subsequent exams.
Class 1, police advanced drivers, are the elite in driving ability above ROSPA AND IAM and have a skill set that professional motor racers can't even emulate on a road. (Any one can go fast in a straight line / on a track )
Police drivers still have collisions in the same way a £40 million quid RAF Tornado is crashed by a pilot who has had £3 million spent on his/her training. However they are rare and one day you may be glad of it when a police motorcyclist is escorting your new heart to the hospital you are dying in !
Following your logic , all Leaner drivers should be banned until they have 'proven their ability' ???
johnbrace
says...
2:04pm Tue 31 Jul 12
hugo2008 wrote:The pay scales are agreed between the union and government. As to the budget and how many of each officer they have in each financial year, it's decided by the relevant Police Authority, for example locally the Merseyside Police Authority but for the Met it was transferred six months ago from the Metropolitan Police Authority to Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime. In another few months it'll be (partly) the responsibility of the new Police and Crime Commissioners...
People should be aware of the difference between numbers of crimes committed, and the numbers of crimes recorded, there is a vast difference and this used to fuel political point scoring.
One statistic very often quoted is that at any one time only ONE police officer out of every 10 is actually on duty, but nobody ever explains why.
Can anybody actually publish the difference between the top salary paid in relation to the bottom salary paid within any police force, including the Met.
My findings are that the top paid 18% of police officers, actually absorb more than half of the total wage bill in any single police force, now that cannot be a sensible set of pay scales.
Positive thinker
says...
7:11pm Tue 31 Jul 12
red devil says...
4:29pm Thu 26 Jul 12