Policing Cuts
Cuts to our Police Service and a response from the PCC’s office.
From page 3 of The Round Hill Reporter June 2017
After a discussion on policing and reporting at a Round Hill committee meeting we agreed to write to our elected police and crime commissioner, seeking her thoughts on some of the cuts and issues we raised, as follows:
‘The most recent Sussex Police Precept, included in Council Tax bills for 2017-18, indicated that spending on “front-line” policing has DECREASED by £5.6 million for police officers and £3.3 million for PCSOs since 2016/17.
Spending on PCSOs has actually been reduced by a staggering 33% in one year.
These reductions, however, are seen in the context of an overall INCREASE in the police budget. We note that there has been an INCREASE of £5.1 million in the category entitled “Other Spend”.
We are deeply concerned about the cuts to spending on police officers and PSCOs within the overall picture of an increased police budget. What almost amounts to the decimation of our PCSO team is particularly shocking since this aspect of policing is perceived by many to have had the most direct impact on our community in recent years. Residents in 2017-18 now feel more vulnerable, less protected and less supported.
Her office’s reply to this was that the cut in central funding was made by government, but that the impact would have been worse if not for the rise in our Council Tax which offset all of the reduction. As to the loss of police and PCSOs, her leaflet explained that 24 new Community Investigation Staff will “proactively intervene to disrupt (known) local crime groups and individuals” and “work alongside our Integrated Offender Management teams to reduce re- offending”. In addition there will be 20 more staff working with schools and colleges to “steer young people away from crime”, and a further 52 Armed Response Officers (with 3 new vehicles) to counter the existing terrorism threat.
We also raised the problem of unanswered non- emergency 101 crime-reporting calls: ‘The 101 number is offered as a means of reporting non-emergencies.
According to reports from residents, it is often not possible to get through using this number without waiting for a very long time----waits of anything from 20 minutes to an hour have been experienced and, anecdotally, do not seem to be untypical. This poor service is very frustrating and deters residents from reporting crimes. This poor service may inadvertently aid criminality and lead to an inaccurate picture of the true level of crime in a given area.’
The reply from her office on this point said, “Like you Mrs Bourne has expressed concern about Sussex Police’s performance when handling non- emergency calls. She has raised the issue with the Chief Constable several times at her monthly Performance and Accountability meeting, the last time being the 24th March 2017”.
This page was last updated by Ted on 19-Apr-2026