Cuts will not affect officer numbers says PCC

The number of police officers in Warwickshire will not be affected by the need for £1m of savings, the person responsible for setting the force's budget has said.

The force area's police and crime commissioner (PCC) Philip Seccombe said he had been reassured by the top officer at Warwickshire Police that a tightened budget would not affect staff numbers.

The Conservative was challenged on the savings at a budget meeting of the Warwickshire Police & Crime Panel on Monday.

The force has to find savings, despite plans to increase its council tax precept by the maximum allowed for the 2025/26 financial year.

The owners of an average Band D property in Warwickshire will pay an extra £14 to the police in their council tax bill, the plans state.

Documents show Warwickshire Police will require another £10m just to stand still over the next financial year, and while the bulk of that will come from government, Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith has been tasked with making £2.2m worth of savings to balance a £140.8m budget.

It was explained at the meeting that £1.2m in savings had already been found, with the force currently working on plans to find the rest of the money.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr Seccombe said Mr Franklin-Smith had assured him that officer number would not decrease.

"These savings are challenging," he said.

"I stood on a manifesto to increase the number of officers in Warwickshire Police, I continue to stand by that."

Mr Seccombe said that while it was currently "difficult to look over the horizon", he was "optimistic" the force was in a sound financial position.

"We have to make sure we protect our reserves - they are there for a reason - but I am optimistic we can continue to grow the number of officers and PCSOs in Warwickshire," he said.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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