Gloucestershire Police announce changes to improve financial and organisational stability
The changes are in an aim to save over £12million in the next year.
Gloucestershire Police have announced a number of jobs in the force are set to be cut and the mounted police unit will be transferred to West Midlands Police.
It’s in an aim to improve their financial stability and save £12.3million over the next 12 months.
Chiefs say policing across the country and locally has been making the case for further funding for a number of years.
60 police staff roles will be made redundant with the loss of around 30 to 40 police community support officers.
Temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth says the force is taking decisive action, and there will be some difficult choices ahead.
However, the constabulary is absolutely committed to continuing to protect the frontline and provide the operational services the county needs, she said.
The force says it will be adopting its Gloucestershire Rapid Improvement Plan (GRIP) for swift and sustained progress over the next week to improve their performance in areas such as child protection, domestic abuse, neighbourhood crime, and serious organised crime.
Temporary Chief Constable Blyth said: “Since joining the Constabulary I have been impressed with just how many dedicated, professional and hard-working people there are working for it.
“It’s clear though that many are juggling competing demands and high workloads and so the GRIP is intended to make clear for all officers and staff exactly what we want them to focus on.
“It sets out the need for ‘excellence in the basics’ – the professional standards all officers and staff must adhere to in their role – and outlines our expectations of strong leadership.
“Most importantly I want to reassure people that Gloucestershire Constabulary is protecting our frontline services, meeting the needs of all our communities and keeping them safe.
“Today I can give you that reassurance at a time when we’re also having to make some difficult decisions about how we use our limited resources.
“Our vision is that all crime will be investigated, and that we ensure we use our police powers to be relentless in pursuit of perpetrators. We want to protect all our communities so they feel safer.
“The GRIP is a response to careful and considered analysis of our current levels of performance and crime, with a focus on specific priorities.
“My chief officer group and I are confident it will address some of our most pressing challenges and provide the foundations for long-term transformation, particularly in improving our ICT.”