West Midlands Police: 'Severe' cuts will dilute force, says commissioner

A police force set to lose more than 2,500 jobs may not be able to maintain a "quality" service, the police commissioner has said.

West Midlands Police outlined the measures - which will mainly affect community support officers - as part of its efforts to save £130m.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said further cuts of up to £30m were likely to follow.

The Home Office said crime was down 16% in the region.

West Midlands Chief Constable Chris Sims said: "We will continue to offer the protection we currently offer but people will notice the service is delivered differently.

"There will be less visibility on the streets, fewer bobbies on the beat."

Shale Ahmed from the Aspire and Succeed Youth Centre in Lozells said the changes could be "devastating".

"For a neighbourhood like this, it's about community safety," he said.

Ravi Subramanian, from the union Unison, which represents some police staff, said the service had already suffered job losses. "This further reduction will mean a scaling back of neighbourhood policing."

Mr Jamieson said: "The West Midlands has seen 24% cuts - that isn't right.

"Last week we heard there could be another £20-30m cuts on top of this. What we cannot do is do what we were doing before.

"We are going to lose up to half of our budget by 2020.

"What people must realise is that government austerity could have a severe effect on the quality of policing.

"It's going to be policing without frills. I'm afraid it could be like some of the European forces, where it's just response policing and the other excellent work our police do could be seriously diluted."

However, the Home Office said: "There is no question that the police still have the resources to do their important work.

"What matters is how officers are deployed, not how many of them there are in total.