Police chief appeals to Home Office against funding cuts

In a letter to Theresa May, chief con Neil Rhodes outlined how Lincolnshire Police may find itself in a ‘financially-unsustainable position’ from 2016 if police funding continues to be allocated in the current way.

Police spokesman Dick Holmes said: “This would mean that, whilst Lincolnshire residents continue to pay a larger proportion of police costs than many, the force will be provided with funding below the basic level needed to remain in business.

“The letter was written with the knowledge and agreement of Alan Hardwick the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner. It has since been debated at an open meeting of the Lincolnshire Police Crime Panel.”

He added: “In the light of considerable public and media interest Mr Rhodes has decided to publish the contents of the letter in full.”

The letter is as follows:

Dear Home Secretary,

The future sustainability of policing services in Lincolnshire within the current funding arrangements

As we begin to finalise our budget arrangements for 2015/16, with a view to the years immediately beyond that, it is important that I draw your attention unequivocally to the problem in terms of sustainable policing services that confronts the communities of Lincolnshire and which is a cause of grave concern to me.

A smaller, forward looking and innovative force that has embraced change, Lincolnshire Police in 2016/17 will be, on the basis of current financial projections, on the edge of viability. In the following year it will be unsustainable. Having balanced our books in probably the most challenging position in the country, we firmly believe that we are an exemplar of good practice and efficiency - graded ‘Outstanding’ by HMIC for the provision of affordable policing - yet find our very future threatened by an anomalous funding formula and the blunt instrument of straight percentage cuts.

We have worked hard over the past year in particular to shape and inform Government thinking, hosting visits from the previous Police Minister and groups of senior civil servants. We participate in a number of government-led groups looking at these issues, however, all are working to produce information for Summer 2015 and we must take decisions now if we are to produce balanced budgets. Our principal means of reducing budgets is now almost solely by reducing officer numbers.

There are two key problems with this approach to reducing costs. Firstly, to cut officer numbers by the amount needed would mean service degradation to a level that would be unacceptable to our communities and compromise both public safety and officer safety. Secondly, the scale of reduction required far outstrips our ability to cut numbers through normal means.

A short overview of the force

Lincolnshire Police covers the third largest policing area in the country (almost 2300 square miles) with just 1100 officers, 149 PCSOs and 256 police staff. The cost of policing per head of population is the very lowest in the country, whereas the caseload of officers is the third highest. Despite this, force performance is very good, crime detection and resolution is on a par with most forces and there has been really significant crime reduction in recent years - although last year’s reduction was small and this year’s is currently neutral.

In this Comprehensive Spending Review round, being required to take out £19.7m from a £120m budget, the force restructured to work as one unit without BCUs, reduced officer numbers by 120, and cut significantly non-staff budgets. We also entered into a ground-breaking outsourcing arrangement with a private sector provider that sees many back office functions supplied at much lower costs, whilst retaining 575 jobs in the Lincolnshire economy.

In addition, there has been a real drive to embrace and lead regional collaboration, with major crime, serious and organised crime and specialist operational services such as roads policing and armed policing being delivered with neighbouring forces. We led the creation of the East Midlands Criminal Justice Service, which will see for the first time an integrated criminal justice IT platform across four forces.

The financial position in brief

Based on prudent assumptions, if the pot of money we believe is available to policing in the next few years continues to be allocated in the usual manner, then Lincolnshire Police will have a funding gap of £7.6m in 2016/17 growing to £10.4m in 2017/18. Alternatively, if there was to be no reduction in central police grant, then cost pressures such as a 1% pay rise and the scheduled increase in employer National Insurance contributions would still mean a £3-3.5m gap.

Although we are working hard and innovatively to drive out further savings, our ability to make any real impact on that number simply has to be by reducing police officers and PCSOs. £10.4m equates broadly to 236 officers. To make a further reduction of police officers (or combination of officers and PCSOs) would mean significant service degradation to a level that the community would find unacceptable.

The impact of service degradation

Lincolnshire Police has a trusted and tested approach to forecasting resources and demand that has been reviewed by HMIC. Chief officers recently worked through the service degradation impact of a scenario where officer and PCSO numbers were cut in line with the potential budget reductions indicated.

Our professional opinion is that -

Although the ability to deal with major crime, serious and organised crime and the provision of specialist operational services such as roads policing and armed policing will be sustained through existing collaborative arrangements, there will be almost no capacity to provide mutual aid in public disorder scenarios.

Meaningful Neighbourhood Policing as we currently practise it will cease, with no constable community beat managers and just a few PCSOs.

The lowest level of local political engagement will be at inspector level.

The spectrum of response times experienced by those calling for our attendance will increase substantially (work being done to quantify change).

Pro-active patrol as opposed to response will almost cease.

The range of offences where a meaningful investigation will be possible will reduce (work being done to quantify).

Computer enabled (cyber) crime capacity will be sustained, but not expanded in line with the growing need.

Child Sexual Exploitation investigations, by necessity, will focus on the here and now with limited ability to examine historical cases.