A POLICE force is drawing up plans to cope with up to 110 fewer officers over the next five years, it emerged last night.

Although reluctant to shed posts, senior officers at Durham Police are preparing for a major overhaul to deal with Government spending cuts.

Chief Constable Jon Stoddart said neighbourhood policing would remain at the heart of everything the force did and his aim was for the public to experience no change other than a continuing focus on improved service delivery.

However, PC Andy Metcalfe, chairman of Durham Police Federation, said he was seriously concerned and performance was bound to slip.

The force, which covers County Durham and Darlington, has 1,474 police officers.

The reorganisation includes replacing the force’s geographic set-up with a “hub and spoke” model, with a single, centralised command.

Chiefs say there are no plans to close police stations and the changes could save about £6m a year.

Plans to merge the force’s north and south communications rooms have been dropped.

Instead, a new set-up trialled in the south area for the past six months will be adopted countywide.

Senior officers say during the trial, response times have improved and public satisfaction has increased.

The shake-up, agreed by Durham Police Authority on Friday, December 17, will be introduced over 12 months from April.

As police officers cannot be made redundant, the jobs will be lost through continuing a recruitment freeze and not replacing retiring officers.

The force is also axing 86 of its 1,160-strong civilian workforce.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Roberts, who was brought in from Cleveland Police to spearhead the review, said: “At the point of delivery, the public should see no change in the service they get.

“Neighbourhood policing remains fundamental. When the public calls for assistance, they will receive it.”

He added: “By organising ourselves differently we believe we can deliver at least as good a service as we currently do, with reduced resources.”

However, PC Metcalfe said: “It’s going to mean increasing pressure on the cops who are left. The thin blue line can only be stretched so far.”

Durham Police, which had a £122m budget this year, faces an 11.3 per cent cut in Government grant by 2013 and a funding gap of at least £10.8m for 2011-12.