Forces should cut officer numbers and use tech to fight crime, police chief says
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Finance lead for England and Wales police chiefs says focus on officers gets in way of making better use of budgets. Police forces should be allowed to cut officer numbers and spend more money on technology to boost crime fighting, a police chief has said.
Chief constable Paul Sanford, who leads for police chiefs on finances, said there was an obsession with officer numbers, even though it would often be more effective to have fewer officers supported by better technology. Sanford, who is the chief constable of Norfolk constabulary, said forces cannot afford new technology that could help them solve crimes more quickly and serve victims better.
Police chiefs in England and Wales have said they need £3bn extra to fight crime properly, but there is little immediate prospect of them getting a real-terms increase in their budgets. Both the Labour government and previous Tory government have told the 43 local forces the minimum number of officers they each should have, and they lose £50,000 per officer below the target.
Sanford said that ending the rule on the minimum number of officers forces must employ could actually put more on the streets. “If I had flexibility, I’d be employing more staff instead of officers, and I’d be making better use of technology,” he said, adding “that would free up the time of my police officers, make them more visible and deliver the policing that the public expects of us.
