A TOP police officer has pledged that West Mercia is committed to retaining the number of frontline officers on duty in Redditch.
Assistant Chief Constable Martin Evans also said changes in shift patterns would see more officers on duty when they were needed most.
His comments came after a serving Redditch police officer voiced fears that threatened cutbacks in staffing could ‘make it worse for everyone in Redditch’.
The whistleblower, who contacted the Standard before the police precept was set at just under four per cent, had said officers were under so much pressure they were working on days off to deal with the workload.
Documents sent us spoke of a possible reduction in officers across North Worcestershire in Redditch, Bromsgrove and Kidderminster – making the thin blue line even thinner should the precept, the police share of council tax, not be enough.
Our source said: “These officers will deal with missing persons, all the handovers of people in custody, attend all the new incidents and investigate all the volume crime – vehicle crime, burglaries, shop theft, criminal damage, anti social behaviour, etc.
“I know the Police get criticised for non-attendance or a lack of service. As front line officers it is because we hold an average of 30 investigations, attend incidents and just don’t have the time to deal with it, and I’m sorry.”
However ACC Evans said West Mercia was going through ‘a period of change’ with investment in new technology and processes which he said would benefit both the public and staff.
“Now our officers are equipped to work in this way, we will be changing our shift patterns to ensure we have officers available when the public needs them most,” he said.
He added the technology would give officers greater flexibility and allow them to do many police procedures in situ rather going back to the station.
He acknowledged this flexibility could lead to less officers being sent to an incident but added: “The Neighhbourhood Teams will not be reducing and we are absolutely committed to keeping the numbers.
“At the moment we have a number of PCSO vacancies and we are working internally to fill any PC vacancies.”
Some first line and second line management roles were being ‘taken out’ he said but this was to prioritise frontline officers.
“I am comfortable that everything we are doing is for all the right reasons and the people who will benefit will be our communities and our workforce.”
Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said “Our communities want policing resources focused where they matter most – on the frontline. I would reiterate my commitment to protecting our numbers of PCs and PCSOs.”
West Mercia Police this week confirmed a budget of £211m for the coming year, increasing their share of council tax tax by 3.94 per cent, equivalent to an extra 2p a day for a typical home.
