Police forces funding reduction causes 15% officer layoffs since 2010

UK police forces are in financial straits and need the Home Office to provide a clearer national picture of what services it requires, a study from the National Audit Office has found.

The Home Office is responsible for assessing how much funding the police forces need and allocates grants to police and crime commissioners, but according to the NAO it has not given a clear picture of what individual forces need to meet local and national demands.

Since 2010 the funding has been reduced equally across all forces by 19% and the Home Office has failed to consider the full range of demands on police time, the efficiency of the forces and financial reserves. In 2015 it recognised the funding process was ineffective.

Police forces managed financial pressures by reducing the workforce size which fell by 18% in staff and by 15% in officers since March 2010. This puts an extra strain on remaining officers who have to deal with the recent upsurge in reporting of low volume and high harm crime which are most expensive to investigate, such as sexual offences or terrorist threats.

In 2018-19 the department allowed police and crime commissioners to raise council tax contributions so that their total funding was the same as it was in 2017-18, increasing the funding by £280m.

Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO, said today: “The financial sustainability of police forces and their ability to deliver effective services is reliant on the Home Office understanding national and local demands and allocating funds fairly. There are signs that forces are already experiencing financial strain and struggling to deliver effective services to the public. If the Home Office does not understand what is going on it will not be able to direct resources to where they are needed, with the risk that the situation could get worse.”