Thames Valley Police to make £3.4m savings

The chief constable of Thames Valley Police has pledged to safeguard front-line policing after being told to save £3.4m from this year's budget.

The Home Office announced the force's grant would be reduced as part of the government's first round of public spending cuts.

Chief Constable Sara Thornton said she would look at cutting overtime, travel expenses and consultancy fees.

She will report to the Police Authority later this month.

Chief Constable Thornton said: "The reduction for Thames Valley Police amounts to £3.4m revenue and £0.3m capital, which is equivalent to one per cent of our total annual budget.

"The force will be working hard to identify in-year savings in the areas highlighted by the government, including overtime, travel costs, consultancy and other support costs.

"The Home Office have asked that we protect front-line services and I will do everything I can to ensure that this is the case in Thames Valley.

"I will be putting proposals to the Police Authority on 25 June for further discussion."

The BBC understands police forces only received official notification late last Friday.

Last year there were concerns that Thames Valley would have to cut up to 166 posts as it tried to save £11m from its annual budget.

However, only around 50 redundancies were agreed, and the Force managed to find funds to recruit an extra 27 police officers.

The government said this latest round of cuts, which amount to about £125m across the country, should mean no police force will have to cut more than one per cent of its budget which should not affect front-line police figures.