Policing Plan 2010-13: Advisory Note

The Planning process for the forthcoming years will be shaped by a
number of government papers such as the ‘Policing in the 21st Century:
Reconnecting police and the public’ (published July 2010) which will
for part of the ‘Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill’ that
will be introduced in the autumn.  Additionally, the coming
‘Comprehensive Spending Review’ (due to be published October 2010) is
the most critical in recent memory in terms of policing in our area,
there is no escaping the conclusion that the Service and Police
Authority will need to re-examine and prioritise their activities and
functions. 

The most recent government announcements regarding the national
budget deficit have identified that a second wave of significant cash
savings will have to be delivered by the Police Service. The
anticipated savings are now far more stretching than the recent (in
year) cut to our 2010/2011 budget.  Our best estimate based on
information supplied by Home Office officials is that we will now have
to cut £13 Million per annum from our budget by 2014/15. This amounts
to cumulative savings of over £34 million during the period between now
and then

At this time our overall strategic direction will not change; the service will still focus on ‘Safeguarding our Community’, and its vision of seeking to ‘continuously
improve confidence within our communities, by making people safer and
more satisfied, treating everyone fairly and bringing offenders to
justice’. 

We will also still focus on reducing and detecting crime,
providing accessible and visible services and, providing a quality
emergency service as well as dealing with the difficult issues of
organised crime and counter terrorism.  We have, in recent years, added
to this priority list providing value for money.

The Service and Police Authority will be reviewing all aspects of
the way we currently do business. Things will change. Some services
will be enhanced, others will be reduced and some will remain the same,
albeit probably delivered in a different way.

We need our local communities to be part of this journey and we
need you to express your views to inform the debate.  From these ideas
and opinions we will make the decisions that will enable us to continue
providing a quality service to our communities, and make the savings
that we are required to achieve.