Crime drops – despite cut-backs

POLICE performance across Cheshire – including Warrington – has not suffered as a result of £13 million savings from the budget.
Uniformed officers and civilian staff have stepped up to the mark and despite changes in working practices and cuts to budgets, crime has dropped dramatically.
During the last 12 months there have been 1,600 fewer victims of crime including 800 fewer victims of burglary and 600 fewer victims of violence. In total, the number of crimes recorded in Cheshire fell by nearly 3,500 compared to the previous year.
This was at the same time as achieving more than £13m in savings, a significant challenge set by the Coalition Government in their spending review of public services.
Members of Cheshire Police Authority’s finance committee were told savings had been made through changing ways of working so that people’s problems are solved much earlier by getting to the root cause and dealing with issues as they happen. The fact that crime has fallen in itself has added to the savings as a result of reduced forensic, pathologist and witness care costs.
Organisational changes such as reduced recruitment, better contract negotiation and non-replacement of leavers and retirees has also bolstered the savings figure.