Nottinghamshire Police’s budget reductions could risk the effectiveness of police protection, a report from a police watchdog says.
It was found that £9.4m of reserve money had been used and that the police force has been inadequately managing their finances. Chief Constable Sue Fish said that the financial management “was not good enough”, when in 2015 an inspection showed that the Nottingham Police force was at ‘serious financial risk’.
The force failed to account for £3.7 million worth of IT works and 3.5 million of over-spending. It is one of eight constabularies deemed as “requiring improvement” in England and Wales.
HM Inspector of Constabulary Zoe Billingham says in the report that the constabulary “requires improvement in terms of the efficiency with which it keeps people safe and reduces crime”.
‘[Nottinghamshire Police] is one of eight constabularies deemed as “requiring improvement” in England and Wales.’
She says the force, nevertheless, has a “good understanding” of the demands associated with prevention of crime in Nottinghamshire. However, she adds “despite some positives, the force has significant hurdles to overcome. At the time of our inspection the way the force was organised, its so-called operating model, was neither sustainable nor affordable in the longer term.
The police force is forecasted to reduce is number of police officers 15% by 2020, reducing numbers from 1,973 in 2010 to 1,669; however, the report expresses that plans are not advanced enough to know the impact this could have on frontline policing.
‘Most second and third years live in Lenton close to the city, so it makes me feel a bit uneasy. ‘
David Keen, chairman of the Nottinghamshire Police Federation commented on the forces financial situation: “It’s embarrassing and it’s a cock-up for them, I get that, but from a federation standpoint, any loss to frontline services or impact on frontline services is regrettable.”
Third year English student Alice Farren, told Impact: “It’s not nice hearing that the police force is inadequate. Most 2nd and 3rd years live in Lenton, close to the city, so it makes me feel a bit uneasy.”
Ellie O’Donnell
Image: Lee Haywood via Flickr
