Lancashire Police looking at best ways forward in face of cutbacks

Councillors in Wyre are to hear how policing in the borough has had to be re-organised to deal with huge Government cutbacks in staff since 2010.

Lancashire Police have had to cut 800 frontline officers and 350 other staff roles since 2010, with funding cuts to date totalling more than £84 million.

The huge reduction in services has affected all areas across Lancashire, including boroughs such as Wyre and towns like Fleetwood, Cleveleys and Poulton.

But a briefing paper by Chief Inspector Chris Hardy, the Temporary Chief Inspector for Fylde & Wyre, says the force has been able to “reconfigure’” resources, based on funding considerations.

The changes in the 2018/19 Core Services Review have resulted in additional staff in Contact Management and Response and a reduction in Neighbourhood Police Officer numbers – and he will explain how these changes will work in practice.

Chief Insp Hardy will take questions from, councillors at Wyre’s next overview and scrutiny committee meeting on Monday December 2.

In his briefing report he stated: “Cuts have to date totalled over £84milion pounds.

“During this time we have had to remodel the NPT (neighbourhood policing team) and cut staff from CBM (community beat manager) roles.

“But PCSO commitment has remained the same and unchanged.

“We still have 98 dedicated NP (Neighbourhood Policing) officers and 45 hybrid officers who work both in Neighbourhood Policing and Response

in areas like Wyre and Fylde – they are now grouped into teams to ensure we have 100% coverage of the count.”

Police presence on the streets has been questioned by residents in Fleetwood and Cleveleys this year as incidences of youth nuisance from a small minority of young people have been highlighted – sometimes by the police themselves on social media.

But Insp Hardy, in his report, asserts that the neighbourhood policing team’s PCs will become more proactive with greater emphasis on problem solving.”