Sussex Police Chief Constable Martin Richards has updated members of the Sussex Police Authority on initial proposals for savings and the challenges faced as the force addresses the prospect of cutting £50m from its budget over the next five years.
Addressing members of the Authority at County Hall in Lewes on Thursday (July 29), Mr Richards said: "We stand by Serving Sussex and the satisfaction and confidence of our communities remain priorities for us. We will maintain a district model of policing.
"We will make decisions on savings on the basis of the impact they will have on our service to the public and on our staff, alongside considering how much money we can save."
On July 6, the Force Executive Board (FEB), together with staff associations and Unison, met to discuss plans for the future. Police Authority members and officers were also present. Many ideas for savings and changes, which have been put forward by staff, were welcomed and considered.
Following this, chief officers have decided that the Force should plan for savings through the following measures:
– Merge North and West Downs Divisions into one West Sussex Division. This will provide a more efficient way for us to undertake important partnership work with West Sussex County Council, and provide a more joined up policing and community safety service.
– Make radical changes to our support functions. Finance, Procurement, Human Resources and Information Technology provide vital support to the delivery of policing in Sussex. We will examine how different teams can work more efficiently together and with other organisations, providing better value for money for the public.
– Perform a significant overhaul of all policy, audit and performance monitoring functions. Maximising savings here will reduce the impact of budget constraints on public service delivery.
– Cut carbon emissions from the force by 10% next year. We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and, in doing so, generate cost savings through greater efficiencies.
– Make available to more staff the opportunity to take unpaid career breaks or to benefit from other flexible working options. Examples under consideration include incentives to take career breaks and to reduce hours voluntarily.
– Cut the amount spent on overtime (excluding Bank Holidays) by 50% and significantly reduce the amount we spend on bank holiday overtime. We have worked to reduce overtime but accept that, at times, it has value. Reducing overtime may mean additional handover of cases from colleague to colleague.
– Move many more services online and increase digital engagement. Greater choice for the public in how they access services by development of digital self-service. This will potentially include online crime reporting and updating, online penalty notice payment, access to FAQs, options to request e-newsletters and alerts.
– Investigate building a shared operating model with Surrey for elements of Protective Services. We are exploring joint working with Surrey Police, which will make our services more resilient and cost effective, and should enhance them further. Similar partnerships are working successfully elsewhere in the country.
The Chief Constable added: "Sussex Police, like the rest of the public sector, is facing really difficult financial challenges in the future. It is not going to be easy but we are absolutely committed to putting the needs of the public first as we make tough choices."
