British police told it may face jobs or spending cuts

Police officers will have to accept cuts to their pay packets to avoid losing thousands of frontline jobs, Theresa May is expected to declare.

In a speech in London, the Home Secretary will say “extraordinary circumstances” mean the Government must reform terms and conditions in order to keep officers on the streets.

Her speech comes amid plans for the most radical shake-up of policing for 50 years, which will see 20% of police budgets cut.

According to the Daily Mail, Mrs May will say: “No home secretary wants to cut police officers’ pay packages. But, with a record budget deficit, these are extraordinary circumstances.

“We are doing everything we can to minimise the effect of the spending reductions on pay. But, up and down the country, police officers and staff I speak to – as well as ordinary members of the public – say they would prefer us to look at pay and conditions rather than lose thousands of posts.”

Overtime payments, housing and travel allowances, and shift patterns are expected to come under the spotlight.

Police will continue to be banned from going on strike, the Home Secretary will add.

Government cuts of 20% to police budgets, the potential loss of tens of thousands of officers, and plans to replace police authorities with locally-elected police and crime commissioners from next year have all faced fierce opposition in recent weeks.

A wide-ranging review of police pay and conditions by former rail regulator Tom Winsor is also under way in an attempt to bring modern management practices into policing to help forces cope in tough economic times.

Last week, MPs warned that ministers should acknowledge the risks involved in bringing in police and crime commissioners when forces nationwide will be making cuts and also under pressure policing the Olympics. The Commons Home Affairs Select Committee also called for the Home Office to explain what it means when it asks forces to “prioritise the frontline”.

Source: Press Association