Over 1,000 jobs to go at Sussex police

SUSSEX police announced this week that over 1,000 jobs are to be axed as part of Government funding cuts.

It's expected that 1,050 posts will be affected by the 52 million budget cuts - of which 500 are police officer roles - but Sussex Police Chief Constable Martin Richards stressed that the Force is still "a long way from final decisions", adding:

"We are still in the very early stages of this process. Specific roles that could be affected have not yet been identified."

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Despite the cuts,expected to be implemented by 2015, PCC Richards said the five year plan to reduce spending while providing the best possible service to the people of Sussex, has already begun adding:

"The spending challenge provides an opportunity for us to put people, not paperwork, at the heart of policing. This means focusing on what matters most to the public and freeing our officers and staff from bureaucracy to do just that.

"Jobs cuts are inevitable for both police officers and staff, but we aren't simply becoming a smaller Force, we're changing the way we police to put people at the centre of all we do.

"This means unburdening officers and staff from unnecessary paperwork and process, freeing them to use their initiative and respond to local needs.

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"The budgetary situation is not of our making and public organisations across the country are facing similar challenges.

"Of course we don't want any of our people to lose their jobs, but this is a reality when faced with spending cuts of this magnitude."

The precise amount the Force will have to save will not be known until sometime after the Government's autumn spending review.

Steve Waight, Vice-Chairman of Sussex Police Authority '“ the independent body which oversees the running of the police force - said:

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"There are some very tough decisions that have had to be made in order to achieve necessary savings, and further difficult choices are still to come.

"Whilst the Police Authority will seek to ensure that the quality of policing in Sussex is not affected, undoubtedly difficult judgements will need to be made which may result in changes to the way Sussex is policed in the future."

Commenting on latest figures, which estimate around 60,000 police jobs nationwide could be slashed, Dave Prentis, General Secretary of public service trade union UNISON said:

"Cuts on this scale will decimate local police services. Police staff work as part of a team doing vital jobs such as finger printing, scenes of crime, emergency control room operators, PCSOs, detention officers etc.

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"Investment in police staff, officers and in neighbourhood policing teams has made a big difference in cutting crime. Axing budgets by a quarter will turn back the clock, and will see crime rates soar.

"The government's ideological choice to cut the deficit hard and fast is risking community safety. But there is an alternative to the mantra of cuts. America is still keeping up spending to boost growth, and stave of the double dip recession '“ we should be doing the same."