GMB Union fights Devon and Cornwall Police job cuts

A union is considering applying for a court injunction to prevent civilian job cuts at Devon and Cornwall Police.

The GMB union said 79 civilian criminal investigators were being made redundant and police officers retrained to replace them.

It said offices in Exeter, Plymouth, Cambourne and Newquay would be affected.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the proposal was still under consultation and no final decision had been made.

Kevin Norman, GMB organiser, said: "This is a wilful waste of money.

"It will also not help that there will be less police on Cornwall and Devon's streets.

"These are not 79 lost posts. Instead they are 79 posts that will be taken over by the front line police officers.

"The impact on police efficiency will be great."

'No decision made'

The union, which is holding its annual congress this week, said police officers would do the work on their usual salaries of £35,000, while the workers being made redundant were being paid £25,000.

It said the criminal investigator role involves fingerprinting, forensics and dealing with corpses.

A force spokesman said: "The proposal being put forward is to disestablish all Civilian Investigator posts within Local Investigation Teams, Major Crime Investigation Teams and the Serious and Organised Crime Branch.

"It is important to stress this is a proposal and as such no decision regarding these posts has been made.

"Whilst this proposal would see a reduction in civilian investigators by around 80 posts, the number of dedicated crime investigators within the force will rise due to the redeployment of existing response officers to local crime investigation units."

Last year Devon and Cornwall Chief Constable Stephen Otter announced plans to cut about 1,000 jobs across the force as part of £47m of savings over four years.

About 3,500 police officers and about 3,000 support staff are currently employed.