Police cuts confirmed

ALMOST 3,000 jobs are to be slashed at Greater Manchester Police after bosses approved cuts of £134 million.

Around 309 police officer posts and 750 civilian jobs will be axed next year. And a total of 2,950 — around a quarter — will be lost by April, 2015.

A recruitment freeze will continue and the force is considering activating a regulation forcing police officers, who cannot be made redundant, to retire after 30 years.

GMP currently has 8,000 officers and 4,125 civilians. The cuts were approved at yesterday’s police authority meeting.

Chairman Councillor Paul Murphy said: “This is an unprecedented situation which we do not want to be in but we must face reality.

“We are legally bound to set a balanced budget and with the scale of savings required in an organisation where more than 80 per cent of the budget is spent on people, it is inevitable that the number of posts will be affected.

“This is extremely difficult. We do not underestimate the impact this will have on people who have worked hard for many years to make Greater Manchester a safer place.

“Their welfare is paramount and that’s why things such as voluntary redundancy, extended notice periods and support in getting back into the jobs market have been so important for us.”

All of the staff and the majority of the police officer posts slashed in 2011-12 will be from office jobs.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy said “We have been working for some time on plans to ensure we provide the most efficient service with the maximum possible effort focused on serving and protecting the public.

“We will be doing everything possible to support the staff who are affected and find them other roles within the force.”