Suffolk Police to lose 111 posts in cuts drive

The Police Federation said cuts would mean the Suffolk force would lose "eyes and ears on the ground"

A police force has announced 111 posts are be lost as it makes £20.5m cuts by 2020.

Suffolk Police said it had to lose 26 police officers, 68 police community support officer (PCSO) roles and 17 civilian administrative posts.

Only three police stations would keep their front desks open.

A police staff union called it a "real blow", but Suffolk's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) said he was "confident" savings could be made.

The "re-design" of the force meant the number of Safer Neighbourhood Teams would be cut from 29 to 18.

Mick Richardson, Suffolk general secretary of the Police Federation which represents uniformed officers, said: "You're removing the eyes and ears from the ground."

Mark Trask, secretary of Suffolk Police branch of Unison which represents civilian staff, said: "These cuts will see PCSOs patrolling the streets reduced from 166 to 98 and 15 police stations closed to the public.

"This is a real blow to our dedicated staff, but the real impact will be felt by the community as the public face of policing is radically reduced."

Tim Passmore said he was "confident" the force could find ways of makings the cuts

Suffolk Police full-time equivalent posts as of 30 November, 2015

• Officers: 1,097

• Staff: 862

• PCSOs : 166

Source: Suffolk Police

Tim Passmore, Conservative PCC, said: "We still have a reducing budget, but as the workload is not reducing, we'll have to find ways of meeting demand with less resources.

"I am certainly confident that we can do this."

Temporary Chief Constable Gareth Wilson said: "I am confident that with the skills and professionalism of our teams, we can implement these changes and continue to deliver an excellent policing service."

The three stations which would retain a front desk were Ipswich, Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds.

The force said it still needed to find £5.5m savings to its annual budget of £150m.