Police facing tough choices over 'unfair funding'

Ben-Julian Harrington has been Chief Constable of Essex Police since 2018

The Chief Constable of Essex Police has told the BBC he will have to make difficult decisions if the force continues to be "unfairly funded".

Ben-Julian Harrington said financial pressure was making it harder for him to retain officers and "keep Essex safe".

The force's £363.7m budget is £40m below what Merseyside Police is granted, despite covering an area that is five times greater in size.

The government previously said it had plans to increase the overall policing budget next year, although allocations by force were still to be negotiated.

The Home Office has been contacted for an updated comment.

Police federations claim the government has not acknowledged the "acute resource crunch" faced by forces.

Mr Harrington said he could not rule out making redundancies among office-based staff at Essex Police if the force was not given a "fairer deal".

He stressed rejecting new officers due to not being able to pay them was a last resort, but that wages took up 80% of the force's budget.

Mr Harrington says he is annoyed and frustrated about officers having to leave policing for financial reasons

"The reality is if I don't have enough money then I can't do all the things I'd want to do," said the police chief, who took up the post in 2018.

"It means we're going to have to make difficult choices about what we do.

"It will put pressure on our staff, our officers who work incredibly hard already."

Essex Police has about 3,800 officers - its highest total since 2010 - making it one of the largest forces per head in England outside of London.

Figures show other than Wiltshire Police, it is the lowest funded force nationally in terms of funding granted per resident.

A spokesman for the force added the cost of maintaining its estate increased by between £4m and £5m in recent years.

'Annoying and frustrating'

Asked how he defined a fairer deal for Essex, Mr Harrington said: "We're not fairly funded in comparison to other parts of the country, it's as simple as that.

"It's important to recognise the 1.9 million residents that live here, the diversity of challenges and to reward the good work this force has done."

Essex Police previously said it had a food bank for staff

He said the pressure was also being felt by officers, who were leaving policing and their colleagues were having to plug the gaps.

"I read first-hand the reasons they leave, because that's how much I care about this," he continued.

"I see people say, 'I'd love to stay but you know what, less stress, less pressure, more money - I'll go somewhere else'.

"That really annoys me and frustrates me that they are being forced to make those choices to go elsewhere."