Cash-strapped West Yorkshire Police cuts recruitment

Retiring police officers will be replaced, the force said

Force 'missing out on £18m': From BBC Democracy Live

West Yorkshire Police is cutting back on recruitment and reducing officer numbers in an attempt to solve its financial problems.

The force faces a projected budget shortfall of £9.4m next year, and £15.3m in 2011/12.

Uniformed officers in desk jobs will be replaced by police staff, leading to a reduction in officer numbers of between 20 and 50, a spokeswoman said.

The force currently employs 5,784 officers and 4,258 other staff.

The number of officers increased by 10.7% between 2004 and 2009, the second biggest increase in the country, Home Office figures show.

The spokeswoman said a recruitment freeze was not in place, as some specialist roles would still need to be filled and new recruits were needed to replace retiring officers.

But she said the force was reviewing all recruitment activity and would try to fill vacancies through redeployment or through using temporary staff instead of permanent recruitment.

A debate in Parliament recently heard that West Yorkshire Police was missing out on £18m in government cash because of the way the police funding formula is calculated.