Stark cuts warning from police chiefs at Gants Hill Q&A event

Police Ask Me event (Image: Archant)

Redbridge Borough Commander Det Ch Supt Sue Williams said the Metropolitan Police could lose thousands of officers in plans to make savings of £1.6billion across the service by 2020.

Speaking yesterday at an Ask Me question and answer event at Ashurst Drive Baptist Church, Ashurst Drive, Gants Hill, Det Ch Supt Williams said that a £600million saving had already been made.

She said: “We expect another saving of £800m. If you take £800m – it’s about 8,000 or 9,000 cops we’re losing.

“We might have to join up with other boroughs – if that happens we will have to look at how we can use prevention as a police service.”

The borough commander said the police would have to look into new technology in order to report crimes online.

“In the future, if there’s been a crime and there’s no CCTV, no suspect and no other information and you have reported it online – that’s the end of it. We might not be able to send out an officer,” she said.

Speaking of next year’s London mayoral election, she added: “You will hear a lot of promises being made and a lot of promises that will be difficult to keep.”

Also on the panel was Ch Insp Tracey Goddard-King, Ch Insp John Fish and Ch Insp Rick

Tyson. Ch Insp Tyson said: “The money we receive from central government is going to be reduced and we have to try and provide the best service we can.”

He added: “We have all got to make some difficult decisions – we’re not trying to be evasive but it’s politicians who decide where your money is spent and we have to deal with the consequence of that.”

Despite concerns about the future, Det Ch Supt Williams said the borough was “doing well” in terms of crime reduction and victim satisfaction.

She said: “In this borough, we have reduced MOPAC 7 crimes [burglary, criminal damage, robbery, theft and violent crime] by 23 per cent in three years.

Ch Insp Tyson said the borough was performing “tremendously”.