Northamptonshire Police to axe one in three backroom posts due to tough budgets
ONE in three backroom staff at Northamptonshire Police face losing their jobs over the next four years, it has been revealed.
The drastic cuts, which are higher than previously anticipated, are part of plans to slash £12.7 million from the force’s budget by 2016, when Government funding for Northamptonshire Police will have been cut by a further 10 per cent.
According to the latest Home Office figures from September, Northamptonshire currently employs 967 police staff and behind-the-scenes workers. More than 150 backroom jobs have already been axed in the 12 months leading up to last September, including emergency call centre workers, forensic officers, IT, human resources and marketing roles.
As part of the latest four-year budget, to be discussed this week, 333 more jobs are likely to go, including dozens of roles as part of an agreement to share some services with Cheshire Police.
In a report to be discussed this week, Rosemary Yule, treasurer of Northamptonshire Police Authority, said: “The four-year medium-term plan assumes a loss of 100 police officer posts, 25 PCSOs and a further 333 police staff.
“The police staff reduction is an increase from last year and includes the effects of redundancies resulting from the move to shared services at Cheshire.”
The budget still includes a £600,000-a- year joint contribution by Northamptonshire County Council and Northampton Borough Council to fund PCSOs, which is also likely to be axed. Loss of the money will mean 19 community officers’ roles are at risk.
Ms Yule added: “If the funding is withdrawn, the equivalent number of PCSO posts will be removed so that the budget agreed today remains balanced.
“The totals equate to 16 PCSO posts funded by the county council and three full-time equivalent PCSO posts funded by the borough council.”
The budget also reveals the force will use £7.2 million of its general reserves to pay for the new Criminal Justice Centre, being built in Brackmills, to avoid long-term borrowing.
MPs had previously called on police chiefs to use reserves to pay for officers.
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Comments
There are 27 comments to this article
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exigehpc
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 01:51 PMCount, can't reply to your HPC thread, banned from the forum. Mail me david at splut dot com Ta
4x4 fan
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 10:28 AMRather than whinge about what another on here is saying, let's look at 'cuts' and budgets. These will always occur regardless of them being private, public sector or even in an individuals home environment. It is true that certain items that the police spend money on eg expensive 4x4's and bmw's might be viewed as a waste and should be cut. Criminals get high powered vehicles and escape capture as the police are left behind as budgets mean they still drive low powered vehicles. Then joe public moans that money should be spent on improving their transport and so the argument goes on. Plumbers can be employed in house, registrations for employment need to be paid, so they get shelved too. Hospitals are forced down the same route as are the fire service etc. Public sectors have the same constraints put on them and their staff. If the company doesn't perform they go bust. Life is about having a balance and organisations need to move with the times and try and keep everyone happy.
vokey
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 08:23 AMClose the susidised canteens Sell old computer equipment instead of throwing it in a skip dont but BMW 4x4s and other luxury vehicles Employ your own plumbers and electricians instead of outscourcing it. Show us some results of arrests and convictions as a result of PCSO's , then decide wether they are worth it There ive saved a few quid. .
weemo
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 10:53 AMThe count and macbeth show the impossible position of the police. There are , unlike most other countries Apolitical and have to try and satisfy all sides of the political divide.So far I haven't heard a word of sympathy for the 333 individuals who will loose their jobs because of this action. All have lives to live probably families to contribute to and face a very uncertain future in the current climate. The success of any democracy is whether the governing party retains the consent of the people and that is the problem currently in Greece, they have lost the will of the people. I very much doubt whether the British people would ever go down that road but we must be careful and govern with the will of the people. Reducing our Force to a stump will only produce two outcomes. Either an increase in crime which forces the Authority to re think this strategy or more likely the resurrection of the Merger discussions of a few years ago. After all is the existence of 43 individual totally autonomous forces the future? Perhaps it is time to call time on the whole concept of a separate Northamptonshire Force.
macbeth
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 07:16 PMThe fact is Count, this is personal, we are talking about people who have families, lives to live, when I was made redundant a worker in the factory I worked in killed himself with a shotgun, the work was his life. I am sure that you have family that have needed to police, the social services the bin men, they are hear to do a job, and they do necessary jobs. Is your job necessary?
TheCount
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 04:15 PMmacbeth - usual personal attach from MacBeth who would rather see people taxed into the ground to pay public sector workers than fix a clearly broken system.
macbeth
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 03:49 PMUsual rubbish from the count, does't need public sector as never going to get old, get burgled, get his children educated etc etc.
mack80
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 03:44 PMHaving sold equipment to Government Departments i.e Police, and other bodies they sit on large sums of money right up until March each year then go on a spending spree buying equipment that is never used Look in Police storage units and one will see equipment such as bikes,motor cycles, and unused equipment and clothing that is then sold at later dates at low costs
TeddyMcnabb
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 03:01 PMWont be long before this coalitions addiction to privatise anything , everything and everybody, moves on now that private security contractor G4S is on the verge of getting a contract to build and run the first U.K police station.
TheCount
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 02:24 PMLoki - That's a loaded question. The real answer was not to expand the salaries, pensions, jobs, spending by 40% too much when Labour was in power. This country is not living within it's means. The issue now is that because Labour over-spent so much they cuts will have to be even harsher. When public sector salaries and pensions are less appealing than those being forced to pay for them then we'll be back on an even keel. Until that point he public sector workers really need to get a grasp on reality and see what is happening in the wider world and with the people who are taxed to pay for this in the UK.
Loki
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 01:43 PMPerhaps TheCount can tell us how ANY business can take a cut a whopping 20% and still be expected to maintain a decent service? Northants Police had worked out a plan to save 12% over four years - costed and viable. Then, along came the Coalition government with their unrealistic demands.
TheCount
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 01:33 PMweemo - Sorry, i don't tend to believe reports written by organisations saying...we don't have enough public money, we need more money. The police, like the NHS, the council, the fire brigade etc will always complain about their budgets and not having enough. If you've worked for the a large multi-national firm or organisation you will have seen the madness that is allocated budget spending. Companiesorganisation can waste loads of money just because they've been given the budget. If they don't spend the budget, they don't get as much next year. Salaries balloon to meet the budget too. The tax payers are skint, time for them to reign in their spending, cut their wages and pay for their own pensions. If the cuts aren't made we will end up like the PIGs of Europe, do you want that ? Sensible budgetingcuts now might save this country from Chaos.
TheCount
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 01:31 PMIt'snot the budget that is the problem, it's how they spend it.
weemo
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 01:25 PMCount your comments show how little you know about the Force. The proof of under funding is readily available on any annual report from either the Authority or the Force itself. Like for like comparisons with any similar force shows that as a county we have continually lost out As in all walks of life you get the service you are prepared to pay for and Northamptonshire will very quickly realise that you cannot get a Police service on the cheap.
TheCount
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 01:01 PMweemo - What age do most police men retire at ? How many come back as consultants. What sort of pensions do they get ? Underfunded....you are having a laugh.
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