West Midlands residents may have to accept higher council tax bills if they want to maintain the police service they have come to expect, the chief constable of the region's police force has warned.
Speaking exclusively to the Birmingham Post, West Midlands Police chief constable Chris Sims said the police precept, which is added to council tax bills, may have to rise after Government funding for the force was cut by £60 million over two years.
But he insisted West Midlands Police would become more effective at fighting crime – even though he was being forced to axe 2,250 posts.
About 1,000 police officer posts and 1,200 or so civilian staff posts are to go, with officers forced to retire after 30 years’ service and a freeze on the recruitment of new staff.
The chief constable was speaking in the wake of last month’s announcement by the Home Office and Department for Communities and Local Government that basic grants for every police force will be cut by 5.1 per cent in 2011/12 and 6.7 per cent in 2012/13.
In practice, this hits some forces harder than others because they are more dependent on Treasury funding while others raise more money from council tax.
The police precept in the West Midlands Police area was £99 for 2010-11.
But in the West Mercia Police area, including Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Worcestershire, it was £179 while in Staffordshire, served by Staffordshire Police, it was £178.
The precept level is determined by the Police Authority, which includes councillors, magistrates and independent members.
Mr Sims said: “People in the West Midlands pay hugely less for policing than they do in other parts of the country.
“It verges on half of what other people are paying and given the stance of the new Government I don’t think that is a feasible long-term position.
“This is in the domain of the police authority rather than me.
“I’m sure they will want to think about that, but also to take into account the wider economic climate.”
Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, has warned that cutting police numbers in any force could lead to a rise in crime, when he gave evidence to a Commons inquiry.
But Mr Sims said he believed it was possible to “do less with more”.