Expectations of police 'do not match resources'

Sarah Taylor said small cuts would need to be made "across the board" at Norfolk Police

There was a "growing gap" between people's expectations of Norfolk Police and its ability to "deliver with the resources we have", the county's police and crime commissioner said.

Sarah Taylor warned of a "gloomy" year ahead, with cuts needing to be made "across the board" and an increase required in council tax.

"The challenge is that, in the face of years of funding cuts not only to the police but also the other partners involved in the criminal justice system, meeting those expectations is becoming increasingly challenging," she said.

Ms Taylor said it was too soon to say which services would be cut, but stressed there would not be a dramatic blow to one particular area of Norfolk Police.

She said: "We can't maintain how things are now with the current level of funding."

The force would become "unmaintainable" without changes being made, Ms Taylor said

Ms Taylor, a Breckland Labour councillor who was voted into the post in May, said the force was increasingly stretched.

Without making cuts and increasing its share of council tax by about 4%, the force would become "unmaintainable", she said. A public consultation on the proposed precept rise is due to begin next week.

She said: "We've got a growing gap between people's expectations of us and our abilities to deliver with the resources we have.

"Our expectations of all services, including policing, have naturally increased over time, and the constabulary has consistently worked to meet those expectations."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Ms Taylor declined to specify in what areas of policing expectations had risen.

The most recent annual inspection of the force found it "required improvement" in the way it responded with the public, with more than a fifth of callers to its 101 service giving up because it took too long for the phone to be answered.

'Very gloomy year'

Speaking about the year ahead, she said: "It has the potential to be a very gloomy year - everyone in the constabulary wants to do a really good job but there's always a financial sword of Damocles over our heads."

She said the level of cuts would also depend on the amount of money received from the Home Office. However, the changes could hit services including policing, crime prevention and protections for vulnerable people.

On Thursday the boss of the Met warned it faced "eye-watering cuts" to services unless ministers increased funding.

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