Worksop: Police turn to civilians to help protect the town’s streets from crime

Police chiefs revealed their plans for the town at a recent ‘Delivering the Future’ report at their headquarters in Notts.

Over the next financial year £13 million needs to be saved and they are expecting a funding shortfall of over £30 million in the next five years.

As a result of the cuts, the force has announced a new blueprint which will see a rotation of staff, aimed at providing more efficiency.

Chief Constable, Chris Eyre, said: “We won’t know exactly how much the cuts will be until after the general election.”

“But if we have to save £30.4 million over the next period, we have to turn the organisation into a different shape.”

The changes mean that more civilians will be used to investigate cases by reviewing CCTV footage, taking statements and becoming case builders.

More than 30 per cent of all crimes will now be dealt with by trained investigators over the phone which intends to reduce the pressure on front line officers by resolving calls at the first point of contact.

Residents of the town are also likely to see more volunteers working with the police in communities than ever before.

Mr Eyre added: “The cuts have made us more efficient.”

“But this is the reality.”

“We are being dealt more cuts than any other service.”

“We all have a role to play to prevent, intervene early, and halt the deterioration of problems in our local communities.”

Police chiefs told the Guardian that they plan to continue to recruit officers over the next five years.

But they will employ fewer overall staff. By delivering the new model, it is hoped that the police will be able to deliver a balanced budget from now until 2020.

Notts Police and Crime and Commissioner, Paddy Tipping, said: “I do not know what the future holds until after the 2015 General Election and the Comprehensive Spending Review.”

“I hope we can employ more staff than in the last two years.”

*Email [email protected].