Durham Constabulary warned job losses will have "major impact" on policing (From The Northern Echo)
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Durham Constabulary warned job losses will have "major impact" on policing
12:27pm Friday 23rd July 2010 in
DURHAM Constabulary has issued 90-day redundancy notices to civilian staff including community support officers today.
Durham Police has written to 1,160 staff, with the union believing more than 100 jobs will be lost after consultation is completed.
It will have a "major impact" on frontline officers work, the union said.
Unison branch secretary Arthur Dickinson said: "This is a devastating blow to our members. We have never had any compulsory redundancies in the force and we have been working very hard to make savings to avoid any in the future.
"There is a lot of fear and uncertainty over numbers, but the 90-day consultation suggests that the force are looking to axe more than 100 jobs.
"Police staff work as part of a team doing vital jobs such as fingerprinting, scenes of crime, emergency control room operators, PCSOs, detention officers.
Any redundancies will have a major impact on the quality of policing in Durham.
"These job losses are a direct result of Government cuts and will undermine frontline policing.
"We are holding meetings with members to discuss the notices and with management next week."
The force sought to clarify its position through a press release issued this morning.
It said: "Durham Constabulary, along with all other public sector bodies, is considering its budget for 2010/11 in line with the government’s comprehensive spending review which will be announced in the autumn.
"We expect that some jobs will go; how many depends on the outcome of the comprehensive spending review which reports in October.
"In preparation for this, all 1,160 members of police staff employed by Durham Police Authority are being issued with notices advising that their posts are being considered for potential redundancy and that the statutory 90 day consultation period has started.
"This does not mean that all 1,160 police staff posts will go. "It means that when we are in a position to consider where cuts will be made, the formal process will already have been underway for some time."
Assistant Chief Officer, Gary Ridley, said: “Despite undertaking a range of actions to save money, such as freezing recruitment, offering early retirement, voluntary redundancy and centralising functions within its HQ site at Aykley Heads, it is clear that compulsory redundancies need to be considered in light of likely future reductions in the amount of government grant the constabulary receives.
“We are working closely with the Police Authority and Trade Unions to try and minimise the impact on our staff whilst maintaining a service to the people of County Durham and Darlington.
"Durham is a high performing force and we are determined for it to remain so.”
Have you received a 90-day notice? Call the newsdesk on 01325-505065 or email helen.smithson@nne.co.uk or newsdesk@nne.co.uk
Comments(46)
Dean M
says...
2:07pm Fri 23 Jul 10
.
So much for savage cuts..
entitled opinion
says...
2:26pm Fri 23 Jul 10
Dean M wrote:Isn't that a good thing? Anyway a lot of police officers posts will be lost due to there being no recruitment and through natural wastage. The end result being less officers without redundancies.
This implies that not a single police officer's job is under threat. . So much for savage cuts..
Daza
says...
3:10pm Fri 23 Jul 10
Yes, people will reply to me and say it was Brown that got us into this mess, but at least they increased the number of Cops in Durham. Now,that is going to be all undone.
I feel sorry for the decent members of society. The DECENT members of society who rarely call a Police officer out. The SCUM are going to be allowed to THRIVE under this Govt. The same SCUM that are always calling the Police out for menial and trivial matters.
Good luck everyone.
Super steve
says...
3:13pm Fri 23 Jul 10
Daza
says...
3:38pm Fri 23 Jul 10
Super steve wrote:Exactly the type of negative response I expected with this news.
How will we be able to tell if the cuts affect service, over this part of Durham we never see any police patrols, and the roads traffic vehicles wont slum it on B roads east of the A1M unless they are helping VOSA hunt for red diesel. If you ask for their help to reduce speeding through your village they stick up a flashing sign,and thats your lot. And after 5.30 PM theres almost no chance of spotting or speaking to an officer at all.
The reason you never see anybody is cos they are all tied up dealing with repeat offenders, drunks, missing kids etc. Get REAL, it's not a perfect society.
The police I know are dedicated and HATE being tied up dealing with all the above.
The traffice vehicles that you slag off are DEDICATED to reducing road deaths on the roads, and there aren't that many of them.
You've obviously been given a ticket or something in the past from them!
Put it this way, if you rang 999, you would get an officer straight away, whether you paid taxes or not!
st-george1
says...
5:05pm Fri 23 Jul 10
They believed the council taxpayer would willingly pay more and more and now they won't or can't.
Simple answer in my view - stop the overtime and the perks first and save many £millions then transfer the civilian admin staff operation to a private organisation.
If that doesn't bring costs down quickly, merge the worst with the best and sort out top-level management.
Daza
says...
5:38pm Fri 23 Jul 10
st-george1 wrote:Name the Perks?
Shame about the 1160 civilian staff here but with the cost of the 1580 police officers merrily working overtime, having nearly doubled their salaries under the incompetent nuLabour government, all police forces are now having to face the truth about what many will say is their over-generous and uncontrolled costs. Time to get a grip ... They believed the council taxpayer would willingly pay more and more and now they won't or can't. Simple answer in my view - stop the overtime and the perks first and save many £millions then transfer the civilian admin staff operation to a private organisation. If that doesn't bring costs down quickly, merge the worst with the best and sort out top-level management.
Super steve
says...
6:52pm Fri 23 Jul 10
stevegg
says...
6:52pm Fri 23 Jul 10
Daza
says...
8:56pm Fri 23 Jul 10
stevegg wrote:Excellent points!
If you check the figures you will see Durham has already lost about 200 POLICE OFFICERS over the last 2 years and it is expected another 200 will go due to a recruitment freeze until about 2012, the number of officers in 2008 was about 1650, now its 1450 and will be 1250 by 2012 as things stand. You cant run a police force with just civillian staff, Im sure, like me, the public want to see police officers on the streets, not PCSOs who have no powers and cant conduct investigations, so why retain PCSOs when police officers are going? You might think you see police on the streets but look closely and you will realise that a large majority of these are PCSOs who cant do anything and need to call a real officer when an incident occurs. This is a recipe for disaster if it continues as the police are stretched as it is through red tape and the crimanals charter also known as the human rights act which protects them. The front line police officers are at breaking point and are pressured to do mostly UNPAID OVERTIME as there isnt any overtime budget available or other police officers to take over. Just remember this the next time you are a victim of crime or see a PCSO on the streets.
Loads more informative and realistic than the post above yours
Super steve
says...
10:20pm Fri 23 Jul 10
HomeCommentTelegraph ViewDecent police officers are demoralised
Telegraph View: Officers are no longer community representatives but intrusive agents of the state, and treated accordingly.
Published: 7:58PM BST 23 Jul 2010
The policeman who assaulted the newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests last year will not face criminal charges over his death – and this despite evidence that the officer, Pc Simon Harwood, had previously been accused of violence and that Mr Tomlinson died of his injuries, not from a heart attack as the police claimed. Why are we not surprised? Because, alas, the Tomlinson episode – with its hints of brutality and cover-up – is the sort of thing we have come to expect from police who often behave as if they are above the law they enforce.
Also this week: a claim by Julie Spence, head of Cambridgeshire Constabulary, that police spend just a third of their time fighting crime and the rest as social workers. Again, no surprises. Many chief police officers are behaving like surly public sector employees, threatening to take bobbies off the beat if funding is reduced. Not that many are on the beat: a survey has found that one in 10 is available to patrol the streets. It seems, at times, as if the police veer between paramilitary histrionics – witness the Moat case and the Tasering of an innocent motorist – and time-wasting nosiness. No wonder decent police officers are demoralised: they are no longer community representatives but intrusive agents of the state, and treated accordingly. The good news is that spending cuts could force them back into the role of locally accountable crime fighters; David Cameron must ignore special pleading and make sure this happens.
Cowescouple
says...
11:02pm Fri 23 Jul 10
Jolly Roger
says...
11:16pm Fri 23 Jul 10
But I don't see why we normally only see the police in cars never walking around our villages.
Also why should we if we want to call the police do we have to use the none emergency no, which I cannot remember at the best of times , if i want a policemen I want him there and then, so I would phone 999 which is the quickest way to get to them.
Big Dave
says...
7:05am Sat 24 Jul 10
You criticize the traffic cops for "hunting down red diesel" but doing nothing to reduce the speed of cars through where you live. Last time I checked, using red diesel was an offence, as is speeding- should they ignore one and deal with the other? Just how many traffic police do you think there are?Should one be stationed permanently on your road to prevent speeders?
The police are damned if they do and damned if they don't, whatever the occasion. They get an awful lot of things wrong but we'd be a **** sight worse off without them and as it stands, that's the way we're going
Super steve
says...
8:47am Sat 24 Jul 10
Big Dave wrote:Big Dave
....Super Steve's an expert keyboard hero when it comes to Police. He's no interest in doing anything about it and being part of the solution but likes to criticise. I can't believe how offensive the Moat comment is- "paramilitary histrionics"...a lunatic killer on the run and the police are accused of histrionics? I'm sure you'd have been front line with Gazza, Steve- and about as much use. You criticize the traffic cops for "hunting down red diesel" but doing nothing to reduce the speed of cars through where you live. Last time I checked, using red diesel was an offence, as is speeding- should they ignore one and deal with the other? Just how many traffic police do you think there are?Should one be stationed permanently on your road to prevent speeders? The police are damned if they do and damned if they don't, whatever the occasion. They get an awful lot of things wrong but we'd be a **** sight worse off without them and as it stands, that's the way we're going
I have never mentioned Raul Moat in any of my posts, get your facts just right for once. You dont know me, nor anything about me.So dont make comments about someone you have never met, Its just so Chavvy.
As for the Police their record condemns them, in many regions detections rates slip as low as 9%, many averaging only 22%.
I condemn the Police for spending so much time tax revenue earning on A roads, whilst ignoring child safety issues in villages on B roads. They clearly choose grabbing tax dodgers than stopping loonatics speeding through villages, only recently two bikers died near here after losing control, and only last week a speeding car took out a metal fence 500 yards from my home. The new junction in Fishburn for example lasted only 24 hours before a car crashed right through its walls.
It does not take 4 police cars and 3 Police motorcyclists to help VOSA and HMRC when there are safety issues in villages to be dealt with.
Jolly Roger, try looking for those officers after 5.30 Pm when the Scallies and drunks are out, You may find a token pair on a friday night, but the rest of the week nada. The last chief constable of Durham withdrew officers from rural areas because of budgetry constraints, we pay for the service but dont get it.
Super steve
says...
8:54am Sat 24 Jul 10
The PCSOs are gone as are most of the school crossing patrols we are down to 1 council patrol officer and as far as I can tell 2 Spennymoor based officers !!! and 1 Community officer. That is to cover a huge area from Wynyard and the A19 border with the A 689 to the A1
And it runs as far north as just short of Coxhoe and Deaf hill. We are not getting the serrvice we pay for.
merrimoo
says...
10:00am Sat 24 Jul 10
It has been a long and difficult few days and staff are really worried, as are police officers, as if civilian staff are axed, it will only tie up another police officer in the role.
We are a hard working and dedicated staff and it comes as a shock that at least 1 in 6 of us are "expendable".
It has been made worse by the lack of information that has been made available to staff at this time. It will be a long 90 days.
chris81
says...
10:24am Sat 24 Jul 10
8:54am Sat 24 Jul 10
When I first moved out here 5 1/.2 years ago we had an Inspector, a sergeant and at least 4 officers to cover this area. PLUS TWO PCSOs, Two Council Patrol officers,and 5 school crossing patrols.
The PCSOs are gone as are most of the school crossing patrols we are down to 1 council patrol officer and as far as I can tell 2 Spennymoor based officers !!! and 1 Community officer. That is to cover a huge area from Wynyard and the A19 border with the A 689 to the A1
And it runs as far north as just short of Coxhoe and Deaf hill. We are not getting the serrvice we pay for.
Steve i dont know were you get your information from but you very wrong. if you are living in the spennymoor area then you are covered by spennymoor police that also covers spennymoor, ferryhill and chilton. Newton Aycliffe police station covers newton aycliffe sedgefield and shildon. your facts about the amount police officers is also wrong as is the amount of pcso's. i'm sure if you were to attend one of the local PACT meetings dates and locations can be found on the durham constabulary website then you would be able to find out who covers were. the area you have mentioned is classed as the Sedgfield area command or divison which covers from the a177 at coxhoe down to the wynyard. if you think this is a big area to cover then have a look at the wear and tees division!.
Just Like merrimoo i am one of the civillian staff members that has received the 90 day notice this morning. if it was not for civillian staff members the police force would not be able to function.
Trial and Error
says...
2:53pm Sat 24 Jul 10
stevegg
says...
3:42pm Sat 24 Jul 10
Trial and Error wrote:Well the way things are your going to see even less "plod" over the coming months and years as the numbers decline steadily due to no recruitment. Remember, the total number of police officers quoted includes ALL police officers from the chief constable down (Superintendants, chief inspectors, inspectors, sergeants etc) a good chunk of whom dont carry out frontline roles, they are to busy working 9-5, shuffling paper, getting every weekend off whilst the ever thinning 24/7 blue line at the front struggles to cope. To give an indication of front line staffing Bishop Auckland has about only 5 PCs on a shift (population 50,000) and Darlington about 10 on a shift (population 100,000). How much more depleted can you get! By the way arent these hard pressed frontline officers allowed to go into supermarkets for food, many of whom get no breaks at all during a shift as there arent enough of them around to cope with the constant demand.
I rarely see plod on the streets these days unless they are in a car or doing thier shopping in Tesco or Asda, In work time of course.
Cowescouple
says...
4:29pm Sat 24 Jul 10
entitled opinion
says...
6:14pm Sat 24 Jul 10
Big Dave
says...
7:43pm Sat 24 Jul 10
Big Dave
says...
7:49pm Sat 24 Jul 10
Trial and Error wrote:...I think you'll find Trial and Error that even Robocop was allowed to stop occasionally for some baby food!
I rarely see plod on the streets these days unless they are in a car or doing thier shopping in Tesco or Asda, In work time of course.
Cowescouple
says...
9:22pm Sat 24 Jul 10
lovedurham
says...
10:39pm Sat 24 Jul 10
*shakes head slowly*
says...
10:55am Sun 25 Jul 10
If so, could you please post endless rants criticising the police for everything they do, forever more? Ta.
LOLLL!!!!
simmo3578
says...
3:15pm Sun 25 Jul 10
Dean M
says...
8:53pm Sun 25 Jul 10
simmo3578 wrote:Perhaps they would, wouldn't they?
I know a couple of policemen and they are of the opinion that pcso`s are a waste of time and money.
.
Maybe PCSO's could be given more training, more duties and more powers. With a little more money.
I'll bet they'd still be a lot less expensive to the taxpayer than 'proper' police officers. Not that I'm suggesting police officers are saying such things out of vested interests - oh no, of course not.
MarkXN
says...
11:21pm Sun 25 Jul 10
*shakes head slowly*
says...
11:00am Mon 26 Jul 10
Big Dave
says...
1:13pm Mon 26 Jul 10
Trial and Error
says...
5:59pm Mon 26 Jul 10
BP4200
says...
8:18am Tue 27 Jul 10
Oldharleyman
says...
2:45pm Tue 27 Jul 10
Big Dave wrote:Totally agree, notsupersteve has an issue with life in general. From my own point of view, I see plenty of beat PC's and I am grateful for that. They do a difficult job with less and less resources and just get our gratitude. Oh and I have and always have had a clean licence so I have no "axe to grind" The best thing that Durham County could do is start using static Speed Cameras and plenty of them, that way the people who break the law pay for it where it hurts IN THE POCKET!
...cracking comments. You'll still get the axe to grind brigade telling you you signed up for it though.I feel safer knowing there's dedicated people doing their best in difficult circumstances...but then I've never had a speeding ticket!
Dean M
says...
4:37pm Tue 27 Jul 10
Oldharleyman wrote:Congratulations to you two on never having had a speeding ticket - how fantastic. No wonder you come on here proudly boasting about it.
Big Dave wrote: ...cracking comments. You'll still get the axe to grind brigade telling you you signed up for it though.I feel safer knowing there's dedicated people doing their best in difficult circumstances...but then I've never had a speeding ticket!Totally agree, notsupersteve has an issue with life in general. From my own point of view, I see plenty of beat PC's and I am grateful for that. They do a difficult job with less and less resources and just get our gratitude. Oh and I have and always have had a clean licence so I have no "axe to grind" The best thing that Durham County could do is start using static Speed Cameras and plenty of them, that way the people who break the law pay for it where it hurts IN THE POCKET!
.
I know, why don't we have speed camera's on every street corner and increase the fine to £500, vich vill be imposed on even 1mph over ze limit.
.
Motorists must obey ze Staatspolizei at all times, ja?
.
Shame about those 2 thugs in London who filmed themselves beating that 67 year old granddad to death in front of his 3 year old granddaughter. Mind you, they'll be in jail for a few months I hear.
.
British justice..makes you so proud...
Dean M
says...
4:55pm Tue 27 Jul 10
Trial and Error wrote:Yeah, PCSOs, worthless - chimps! Also, teaching assistants, dinner ladies, roadsweepers, shop assistants etc, etc - these unqualified people are all hopeless too and they should all be disliked by real professionals, eh? What cr@p.
P.C.S.O,s are disliked by "real" plod's and rightly so, they are nothing more than wannabee's with a uniform on. Thats why Plod refers to them as "Chimps" Completely Hopeless In Most Policeing Situations, Gotta agree with them this once.
.
I just can't figure out why the resident far-right Tory (that'll be me) seems to find himself frequently fighting the corner of the low paid working classes on this forum, against the Labour types who seem to have no regard for them.
Big Dave
says...
5:19pm Tue 27 Jul 10
Dean M
says...
6:30pm Tue 27 Jul 10
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However, I do feel that senior police officers are not vocal enough about sentencing, and priorities, particularly in respect of those serious crimes that society finds most objectionable.
.
My sarcasm on speed camera's is just my way of expressing my view that the priorities of the police should be continually under review, to ensure they reflect the priorities and concerns of the public. To be fair, Durham does not seem to be flooded with speed camera's thankfully (much to Burnsy's dismay) and, correct me if I'm wrong, this is a decision within the top cop's remit.
.
I think an elected police commissioner will go some way to bridge the gap between what the public want and what the police do. This can only help maintain public support and confidence in them, in my view. It may make the Chief Constable feel his authority is undermined but that's tough, he's paid to serve the public.
.
I might run for the job myself. I'm just a little to the right of centre perhaps, but I think most people are!
*shakes head slowly*
says...
6:53pm Tue 27 Jul 10
...
The tories are trying to short-circuit democracy by popping a rampant sympathiser on top of the police structure, like a cherry on a cake.
..
How much longer will the coalition hold before liberals start getting their scruples and balls back?
Dean M
says...
9:30pm Tue 27 Jul 10
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If anyone can run for election to this post then the people of County Durham will decide - this is democracy, not the opposite. I'm not sure why you think Durham will accept any candidate (Tory, Labour or other) being 'popped' on them.
.
It may sound ridiculous but you could even have someone in a monkey suit running for office..and getting in. Or even me, in an Elvis jumpsuit. Thank you very much...
.
As for the coalition, I think the LibDems have to go on with it. What choice did they have - a coalition of the heavily defeated? They'd have been unequal partners in that one too - Labour were far more heavily defeated than they were! Labour may have returned more MPs but their heaviest defeat since when - Michael 'Scarecrow' Foot?
*shakes head slowly*
says...
12:48pm Wed 28 Jul 10
Remember the pathetic attempts to get an elected mayor in your yown?
That was tories and the disaffected council-bashing moaners who wanted to sit a conservative king on top of the labour council hierarchy, without all the troublesome nonsense of them earning the position through experience and merit.
This police move is exactly the same, except it has a chance of succeeding.
Who will put themselves forward for these positions?
Who makes the selection of candidates?
Who votes for them?
(Nobody voted for a coalition. We've got the government NOBODY wanted!)
Dean M
says...
1:37pm Wed 28 Jul 10
"You're very quick to denounce anything ideologically different, Dean. Again, I would urge you to do some research into the subject..."
.
and:
"Remember the pathetic attempts to get an elected mayor in your town?
That was tories...."
.
Oh dear, Shaky - isn't it time you took another break?
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I would suggest elected police commissioners are ideologically different - and I'm not denouncing them, I'm supporting them!
.
As for your suggestion that I should do some research. Well, this is a classic! Especially when you follow it with reference to the Tories 'pathetic attempts to get an elected mayor'. One slight error here, Shaky. Elected mayor's were a Labour policy from 1997, nothing to do with the Tories.
Not sure how you'll spin your way out of that one but I assume you'll try, rather than admit you're wrong.
.
As for 'nobody voted for a coalition'. Who did we all vote for to form a government then? I said all along that a hung parliament would be a mistake, leading to compromise and policies that no voters supported. But no point whinging about the system we've had for donkey's years, without at least suggesting an acceptable alternative.
Trial and Error
says...
7:21pm Wed 28 Jul 10
Oldharleyman
says...
7:40pm Wed 28 Jul 10
Trial and Error wrote:Pass the Popcorn :)
Keep yer knickers on Dean, your starting to slowly lose the plot and lose your virtual temper on other posters just because thier views differ from your own beliefs. Although it is funny to watch.
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The Laughing Lizard says...
12:41pm Fri 23 Jul 10