FAQ Details
Police Officer and Community Support Officer Numbers - 343/11
Dated: 19 May 2011
Date of request: 08/05/2011
Date of response: 19/05/2011
Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')
Thank you for your email dated 8 May 2011 in which you made a request for access to certain information which may be held by Northumbria Police.
As you may be aware the purpose of the Act is to allow a general right of access to information held by a Public Authority (including the Police), subject to certain limitations and exemptions.
You asked:
Could you please supply me with figures on any reductions in front line Police Officer and Community Support Officer (CSO) numbers across each area of the City of Sunderland due to budget reductions. I was looking for projected figures based on reduced budgets for the coming financial years 2011/12 & 2012/13.
In response:
We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and I provide a response for your attention.
Following receipt of your request, searches were conducted with Sunderland Area Command and the Chief Officer Team of Northumbria Police. I have today decided to disclose the located information to you as follows.
Northumbria Police, like many other public organisations and police forces, is facing reductions in funding.
This was not unexpected and a series of Business Reviews were commissioned in April 2010 to identify ways to work more efficiently, reduce bureaucracy and improve services.
At this stage all proposed changes will be subject to formal consultation, therefore the final position will not be known until this is complete.
We have already announced that we expect to reduce our police staff workforce forcewide by 825 by March 2013 and we expect to see a reduction in police officer numbers through natural turnover by approximately 318 during the same period.
The force is committed to the delivery of policing services to its communities and will maintain as far as possible the numbers of 24/7 response, detectives supporting our neighbourhoods and neighbourhood teams, including CSOs who patrol our communities.
Where vacancies arise in policing services to our communities we will fill those roles with officers from other areas of the organisation.
The information we have supplied to you is likely to contain intellectual property rights of Northumbria Police. Your use of the information must be strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) or such other applicable legislation. In particular, you must not re-use this information for any commercial purpose.
How to complain
If you are unhappy with our decision or do not consider that we have handled your request properly and we are unable to resolve this issue informally, you are entitled to make a formal complaint to us under our complaints procedure which can be found at: http://www.northumbria.police.uk/foi/disclosurelog/foicomprights.asp
If you are still unhappy after we have investigated your complaint and reported to you the outcome, you may complain directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office and request that they investigate to ascertain whether we have dealt with your request in accordance with the Act.
Yours sincerely
Michael Cleugh
Data Protection and Disclosure Advisor
Direct Dial: 01661 868347