FURTHER cuts of \u00a32.5 million to the South Yorkshire Police budget will see fewer officers, community policing damaged and a poorer service to the public, despite officers’ efforts.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the warning from Zuleika Payne, Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation, after it emerged that South Yorkshire is going to lose another 1.3% of Central Government funding over the next year \u2013 or \u00a32.5 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem that long ago when George Osborne was the Chancellor he actually said, \u2018No further cuts to policing\u2019,\u201d said Zuleika.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs always, the devil is in the detail. Was that \u2018cuts\u2019, as in the further cuts to the ones already identified? Or \u2018no further cuts at all\u2019? Because here we are in 2017 with what is another devastating blow that we are to have \u00a32.5 million taken off our budget.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zuleika said that once again the Chief Constable and the senior leadership group are going to have to find those savings.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cSadly the temptation is always towards a reduction in the wage bill because that\u2019s where 84% of our spending occurs. So the first thing they look at is where can we start to streamline and ultimately look towards staffing figures as a way of making those savings.\u201d<\/p>\n
In South Yorkshire, there are now 2,460 police officers \u2013 that\u2019s 77 fewer than this time last year. Zuleika added: \u201cUltimately it is incredibly frustrating for police officers because when there are fewer numbers they aren\u2019t able to deliver a service to the public in the manner in which they\u2019d prefer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will also be frustrating for members of the public who are wanting to access the police service to report issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that community policing is important, it underpins what we do and is at the heart of policing. If we are going to resurrect that policing model then we need the officer numbers in order to do this effectively. We are not able to double crew the officers in the way that we would like, ultimately that impacts upon officer safety and on the service delivery to the local communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zuleika said that while the force is recruiting it is currently considering voluntary redundancy for officers \u2013 risking a wave of experience disappearing from the service.<\/p>\n