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Warning of cuts in police numbers Warning of cuts in police numbers
(about 4 hours later)
The incoming president of the Association of Chief Police Officers is to warn cuts in the number of police officers is becoming a "reality". The incoming president of the Association of Chief Police Officers has said cuts in the number of police officers are becoming a "reality".
Sir Hugh Orde will say many police authorities are "feeling the strain" at a meeting in Manchester on Tuesday. Sir Hugh Orde said at a meeting in Manchester that many police authorities were already "feeling the strain".
He told the BBC the economic situation had put inevitable pressure on budgets. He said the economic situation had put inevitable pressure on budgets.
In his first speech as head of Acpo, Sir Hugh is also expected to criticise proposals to have publicly elected officials running police forces. Sir Hugh officially takes over as president in September after leading the Police Service of Northern Ireland for seven years.
He will warn of "real difficulties" if funding is further cut. In his first speech to chief constables, Sir Hugh predicted said there would be real difficulties for forces if funding were cut after 2011.
Frontline commitment He said: "The future holds difficult choices. The emerging realities of public spending will mean tough choices and we need honest conversations now with government about priorities.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of the meeting, Sir Hugh said: "We are now getting to a stage where we have squeezed and squeezed, and in any organisation where about 80% of your costs are people, the pressure will now inevitably fall on people. Every professional bone in my body tells me it is a bad idea Sir Hugh Orde
"So we again have to look very carefully at how we use technology and how we do things more effectively if we are to maintain the frontline service delivery we are committed to doing." "Nowhere will the impacts be more keenly felt than in service strength.
The police service has benefited from high levels of government investment in recent years, with record numbers of police and community support officers. "The prospect of cutting both officer and staff numbers in order to keep running costs down is fast becoming a reality."
But over this financial year and next police have to find efficiency savings of about 7%. The police have benefited from high levels of government investment in recent years, with record numbers of police and community support officers.
Sir Hugh, who officially takes over as president in September after leading the Police Service of Northern Ireland for seven years, will say that the prospect of staff cuts to keep costs down, is "fast becoming a reality", with "real difficulties" if funding is cut after 2011. But forces must make efficiency savings of about 7% during the current and next financial year.
He will also address plans supported by the Conservatives to replace police authorities with directly-elected commissioners, saying "every professional bone" in his body tells him it is a "bad idea". Sir Hugh also used his speech to attack proposals from the Conservatives to replace local police authorities with directly elected commissioners.
Sir Hugh began his policing career with the Metropolitan Police in 1977, initially serving in central London. "The strengths of UK policing rest on the bedrock of independence and accountability," he told the audience.
He became commander for crime in south-west London in 1998, and developed Operation Trident, which targets drugs-related gun crime in black communities. Frank conversations
Sir Hugh was appointed chief constable for Northern Ireland in 2002, and named the new president of Acpo in April this year. "The reality and complexity of policing is not an attractive subject for those seeking sound bites.
"The links between community policing and highly sophisticated anti-terrorist operations are difficult and on occasions impossible to explain - but critical if we are to protect communities.
"We need to get this message across through frank conversations with those in power or aspiring to power."
"We carry the responsibility to deliver. If people seriously think some form of elected individual is better placed to oversee policing than the current structure, then I am very interested in the detail of how that is going to work.
"Every professional bone in my body tells me it is a bad idea that could drive a coach and horses through the current model of accountability for no added value but plenty of confusion."