Chief Constables are working hard to gain a better understanding of change in demand

National Police Chiefs’ Council Vice Chair, Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said:

“Forces have risen to the challenge of austerity making £2.53bn worth of savings and losing 36,672 officers and staff in the process. We have kept up a good service to the public but, with diminished resources and a major shift in demand, chief constables have had to make tough decisions about which issues are a priority for their force.

“Only 22 per cent of incoming calls to the police are about crime, but the resource implication of calls will differ dramatically dependent on the seriousness and type of offence. Substantial demand comes from public protection issues, such as management of sex offenders and reports of missing people, as well as reallocating resources to deal with a huge increase in reports of child abuse, counter-terrorism issues and cyber-crime. The NPCC, the College of Policing and individual forces have been working hard to gain a better understanding of this change in demand and how to shape the service to meet it.

“We are determined to be as innovative and resourceful as possible to ensure that we continue to deliver an effective service. This means having the right people with the right skills, whether in specialist areas of investigation, such as digital, or in business to understand force demand and manage change programmes. We will continue to support the College in their work to ensure that recruitment and training reflects the skills modern police forces need.

“It’s unrealistic to think that further cuts can be absorbed with no significant impact on the service. Many forces are having to use their financial reserves – usually set aside for development, unforeseen circumstances and major incidents - to cushion the impact of budget reductions. This has particularly been the case when funding settlements have been so late, leaving little time for forces to adjust budgets to deal with unforeseen last minute cuts.

“The report shines an important light on the shortcomings of the current funding model, which puts a disproportionate strain on some forces. We would support a review into how policing should be funded going forward.”

Further information: 

An example of good progress is the formation of the Communications Management Group (CMG), which brings together the NPCC, the Home Office, the College and the National Crime Agency to look at the best way to address the threat of cybercrime and embrace new technology.