Police plan 110 job cuts despite increased funding

Essex Police is looking to cut 110 full time roles to reduce costs, despite getting an extra £21m over the next year.

In a letter to the chief constable, Police Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) Roger Hirst said: "The government funding settlement for Essex Police is insufficient to cover the rising costs of policing the county."

Previously, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "Since taking office, this government has increased police funding by nearly £2bn."

The government said funding for Essex Police had increased by 4.9%, up to £455m.

But Chief Constable BJ Harrington told the BBC: "Essex Police is underfunded: we get less than our fair share."

The PFCC said the force received the second lowest funding in the country.

Hirst described his "dismay" that roles would have to go.

He also wrote: "After several years of sustained growth, it is disappointing to me that the cost of this is a need to reduce the overall establishment of Essex Police officers by 10."

Kieron Franks, a Liberal Democrat councillor, told an Essex Police, Fire and Crime Panel: "Any reduction in officer numbers is a step in the wrong direction.

"This many cuts will just increase pressure on already overburdened police officers. They will have less time to do their actual job of tackling crime."

The reduction in total officers is despite the creation of 39 new neighbourhood police officers.

Some existing officers will be moving into these roles.

The PFCC claims there is a £38,000 funding gap in the cost of these extra neighbourhood police officers, despite funding coming from the government.

The chief constable told the BBC that the government "haven't footed the full bill for that".

The home secretary has said: "We are restoring neighbourhood policing, with nearly 2,400 more neighbourhood officers in our communities."

The police have not given details on what roles will be going.

"We won't be putting police officers into back office jobs," the PFCC told councillors on the panel.

The chief constable told the panel 90 extra officers would be tackling child abuse, domestic violence and violence towards women and girls.

But he added there would be "less back office staff" and there would be "some things that officers will have to do more of".

Last year, there were proposals to cut 65 non-officer roles.

The police U-turned on cutting all 99 police community support officers in Essex.

The PFCC said the force had made £70m of cash savings since 2016.

Police officer numbers, he said, were at "a historic high".

The Essex Police precept that households pay on their council tax bill is going up by 5.74% - nearly £15 a year for the average household.

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