Police plan for tough times ahead
Police forces are already planning on how they will respond to an uncertain future in the face of Government cuts.
Lincolnshire's Chief Constable Richard Crompton said: "The force will cope as best it can and do everything possible to maintain an acceptable level of service to the people of the county."
He said there were no surprises in the Home Secretary Theresa May's speech that trailed the cuts, and in the light of the current implications on public services, the police will have to take their fair share of cuts.
"It will not be until the autumn that the force will know precisely how spending cuts will affect us but we are already planning on how we will respond," he said.
There will be no immediate recruitment freeze for the force but Mr Crompton anticipates the future may bring a reduction in officers and support staff.
He stressed he will do everything he can to maintain numbers for as long as possible.
He confirmed there was no possibility of Lincolnshire Police merging with other forces but there will continue to be an increase in sharing among East Midlands forces of certain operational and support functions.
Theresa May told chief officers this week that the police would not escape cuts in public sector spending in the next few years.
"We are not talking about a spending freeze, or a reduction of one or two per cent. The cuts will be big, they will be tough to achieve and they will fall on the police as they will on other important public services," she said.
The president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, Sir Hugh Orde, told the conference there was a possibility that some police forces would end up with fewer officers.
He said: "The harsh reality is that depending on the severity of the cuts, it would be misleading in the extreme to suggest the size of the service is sustainable."
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Weather for Bourne
Friday 10 February 2012
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