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Police cuts ‘foolish’, warns MP
Aug 3, 2010
A threatened cutback in civilian police staff could affect the number of community support officers (PCSOs) pounding the beat in Teesdale, it is feared.
Durham Police has told all its 1,160 civilian workers that jobs will go as part of the Government’s public spending review.
It is believed that up to 200 workers could lose their jobs throughout County Durham – a move that Teesdale MP Helen Goodman has called “foolish in the extreme”.
As well as affecting PCSOs, the cuts may also have an impact on control room operators, detention officers and administration roles.
Teesdale county councillor Richard Bell, who is a member of Durham Police Authority, said: “Some redundancies are likely and the force is reviewing all options on cost-cutting, including redundancies. I will be pressing for every care to be taken to avoid reducing frontline operational cover in Teesdale, but it’s too early to say how we will be affected.”
In Teesdale, PCSOs provide a visible and reassuring presence for residents. A 90-day consultation period into the possible cuts has now begun at Durham Police.
MP Helen Goodman said: “I challenged the Home Secretary yesterday on her programme of cuts. Overall crime is down 46 per cent compared to 1997. Cuts now are foolish in the extreme.”
However, Cllr Bell has warned of other problems facing Barnard Castle Police. He said: “A greater threat to policing in Teesdale in my view is the possible merger with Northumbria, and at the (authority’s) meeting I stressed the importance of looking at making savings by better cooperation short of a full merger. Durham would be very much the junior partner in a large combined force, which would most likely pull officers to Tyneside and Wearside where there is a lot more population, and proportionately a lot more crime than rural areas on the fringe of the region like Teesdale.”
Assistant Chief Officer Gary Ridley said: “Despite undertaking a range of actions to save money, such as freezing recruitment, offering early retirement, voluntary redundancy and centralising functions within its HQ site at Aykley Heads, it is clear that compulsory redundancies need to be considered in light of likely future reductions in the amount of government grant the constabulary receives.”