SOUTH Yorkshire Police \u2013 and its officers \u2013 are going to face some tough decisions about what they stop doing in the face of more drastic budget cuts.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the warning from Neil Bowles, Police Federation Chairman, who was reacting to the news that 500 more police officers could go from the force as it needs to\u00a0save\u00a0\u00a359 million by 2020.<\/p>\n
He warned that neighbourhood policing was under threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are losing 500 officers from 2500 \u2013 that\u2019s one in five\u00a0officers. What are we going to have to stop doing?\u201d questioned Mr Bowles (pictured).<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cHow can we keep up and continue the service the communities of South Yorkshire are paying for \u2013 they will be getting a lesser service. It\u2019s not acceptable.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur members want to provide the best service they can but they are having to do this with one hand tied behind their backs. And they are suffering with stress and mental health conditions because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In South Yorkshire, in the last financial year, 165 officers were signed off for either stress, depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. That was up from 117 the year before.<\/p>\n
As well as the loss of\u00a0500\u00a0further police\u00a0officers,\u00a0it is thought\u00a01,000\u00a0members of police\u00a0staff and 150 Police Community Support Officer positions may\u00a0also\u00a0go.<\/p>\n
Mr Bowles added: \u201cMembers of police staff perform vital roles supporting police officers in their day-to-day duties. If they are not there then we are going to have to have police officers doing those jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the areas that will be hit hardest will be neighbourhood policing, which is vital for community cohesion and for gaining intelligence in areas such as terrorism and like matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
So how does Mr Bowles think the number of officers can be maintained?\u00a0\u201cIf enough people stand up and say ‘no, we need there to be a credible police force to protect us’ then maybe things will change,\u201d he added. \u201cThe armed services have been protected. It\u2019s time the Government realised policing is the other half of that security equation and our budgets need to be protected or increased.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said people in South Yorkshire need to be aware that \u201cthe population has increased and yet our budget has been drastically decreasing\u201d.<\/p>\n
He concluded: \u201cIn cash terms our budget is now the same as it was in 2007. In real terms that is a cut of over \u00a370m. The population \u2013 and demand on our services \u2013 is increasing and now crime is rising too.\u201d<\/p>\n