A new study has claimed government funding cuts in the police service could mean 60,000 police and civilian posts going over the next five years, the Telegraph has reported.
The study, commissioned by Jane’s Police Review magazine, was undertaken by former chief constable Tim Brain and found the “worst-case” scenario could see 40% of the of the total workforce being axed across England and Wales by 2015, though the figure is predicted to be around 25%.
The study used public spending projections from the Institute for Fiscal Studies but also concluded that, if adjustments are made for inflation and growth, cuts could fall to between 11,500 and 17,000 jobs.
Civilian employees are likely to bear the brunt of the job losses, but police officers and community support officers would also feel the impact.
Brain, the recently retired chief constable of Gloucestershire and Association of Chief Police Officers lead on finance, said: “Forces would probably try and keep the number of police officers up, but that means you’ve got to lose more civilian staff – a lot more – because by and large, the civilian staff cost less than police officers.
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“If the comprehensive spending review does cut the police budget by 25%… then we will see a conflict between the government and police force.”
The study comes a month after home secretary Theresa May said front-line police activity should be increased.
