Spending cuts set to take Police authorities by surprise

Report has found that the police may not be prepared for drastic cuts. 

The coalition government is set to cut the police budget nationally by 20% over the next four years. The announcement was part of the spending review, which was published on the 20th October 2010. What do the Bournemouth public think about these plans? Are they justified cuts? Or will crime increase?

Michael Seymour, 47, a Bournemouth bus driver from Ashley Road, Parkstone said, “I don’t think the cuts should be done to the police at all”. He is constantly faced with the problem of anti-social behaviour “You get bus-fulls of drunken louts… We’ve had bus drivers who have been punched and kicked.”

Barry Unitt, 50, is a traveller and said how, as a homeless person, he “needs the police” and that if officers “patrolled the streets more, there would be less violence.”

Bournemouth University student, Justin Evans, 18, Holdenhurst Road agreed that cuts are “unnecessary” when “crime is already rising.” Another student Mark Ferrier, 19, from Chapel Knapp, Minehead said, he would be more worried about going out at night “you have kids on the street… smashing windows, stealing from people and they’re not being affected by the police on the street already.”

16- year- old Martha Scott, a hotel worker, Roberts Road, said: “crime will rise big time.” With Alina Schmitt, 19 an Au pair, from Hengistbury Road sharing the opinion, “I think it’s bad, when they cut it there will be a lot more crime.”

Retired Magistrate, David James Tattersall, 76, Moorfield Road, Middlesex, said “I don’t see it as much of a problem…if they did away with a lot of the paper work that the police are involved with I’m sure they could still find enough officers to go out on the streets.”

Whilst Company Director for Impect Marketing, Neal Harris, 53, had a very personal response- “ I am concerned, my son is planning on going into the police when he finishes college. I am concerned that there won’t be the opportunities for him.”

Married couple Judith Johnson, 45, a playgroup supervisor and David Johnson, 48, engineer for the National Grid, from Pound Road, Ilminster, said, “It’s something they ought to do in stages… I can understand why they have done it cause of the financial reasons.” David who’s brother in law works for the police said: “Although I don’t think there’s any harm with a reorganisation you want to end up with the same amount of police on the beat not less… they can barely manage with the resources they have got.”