Commenting on police reforms announced by home secretary Shabana Mahmood today (Monday), UNISON national officer for policing Ben Priestley said:
“Any effective reform of police services will need significant investment. Forces are on course to be £1bn short of their current budget needs by 2027, which means vital police staff jobs are already being cut.
“Mergers are expensive and won’t bring about short-term savings. Police staff and the public will want reassurances vital local services and democratic accountability of the police aren’t going to be weakened by the changes.
“Proposals for a strategic workforce plan, an end to police officer number targets and the rebuilding of neighbourhood policing are good news. There’s a real opportunity here to improve the training, development, career prospects and pay for police staff.”
Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
Media contacts:
Dan Ashley M: 07508 080349 E: d.ashley@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
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