Lancashire Police to cut more jobs to save £73m

Hundreds more police and support staff jobs are to go in Lancashire as the force tries to meet its government savings target.

A further 165 police officers and 275 support staff are to go in an attempt to save £73m over the next four years.

The force has already axed about 500 officers, which resulted in savings of about £60m.

Chief Constable Steve Finnigan said the cuts were "too quick and too deep" but "the business will not be broken".

He said: "To find this money we have had to take very difficult decisions.

'Minimise impact'

"What has been really important throughout this review is that we minimise the impact on frontline and visible policing but with nearly 700 police officers fewer, we cannot leave those areas untouched.

"We are facing our greatest challenge and most radical changes in over 30 years."

Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, Clive Grunshaw, said: "I want to reassure the people in Lancashire that to keep them safe, especially those who are most vulnerable, remains our utmost priority."

Mr Finnigan's scheme to restructure the force is planned to be implemented by April next year and includes losing senior staff members and reducing the number of regional divisions from six to three.

Steve Rothwell, vice-chairman of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: "We acknowledge that the police should take its fair share of spending reductions, but this is far from fair and the public are going to be at risk."