Cutting police numbers won't cause crime to surge, says former top officer

Published on Saturday 4 September 2010 17:30

CUTTING police numbers will not automatically increase crime, according to a former Scottish police chief who today effectively accuses the Police Federation of scaremongering.

Tom Wood, who was deputy chief constable of the Lothian and Borders force, said the "proposed and probably much exaggerated" budget cuts would not result in the predicted "murder and mayhem", hitting out at Scottish Police Federation chairman Les Gray, who will tomorrow urge justice secretary Kenny MacAskill to ringfence police spending to prevent a rise in crime.

Scottish forces are facing potential cuts of 25 per cent over the next four years, although details will not be known until next month's coalition spending reviews.

Wood said the impending savings provided the opportunity for radical changes, such as splitting forces into patrollers and crimefighters, and joint control rooms with fire and ambulance services. He also said many officers were now doing jobs more suited to social workers or teachers.

Last week Gray said: "Serious crime will undoubtedly increase. That's not me scaremongering - history has shown when police numbers fall, crime increases.

"It's an inconvenience if the grass only gets cut once a month or your bins only get emptied twice a month, but it's a major problem if you become a victim of crime."

However, writing in Scotland on Sunday, Wood said: "Killer facts first - there is actually little correlation between police numbers and crime rates.

"Inconvenient though it may be to the police federation argument, there is good evidence to suggest that crime rates rise and fall due to a number of socio-economic factors, with police numbers and efficiency having only a marginal effect."

Wood added that the cuts came after 15 years of "bonanza funding", which had enabled forces to boost numbers and update their vehicles and communications equipment.

However, he said this had also left many police doing other people's jobs.

He said: "Never in the history of the British police service have so many police officers been involved in so many other people's work, but in the cold light of cost benefit - to what effect?

"Standing back, it's very hard to see what benefit the years of plenty have brought to the front line, to the street or to victims of crime or nuisance."

Wood warned against "cutting swathes" through civilian support staff to make the required savings.

Instead, he said major changes should be considered in the way the police were run, such as by creating two-tier forces and sharing control rooms with other emergency services. He said: "Perhaps this is even the opportunity to examine the realities of our single-tier police service, when most other countries in Europe have a more economic patrol force and a smaller highly trained criminal police.