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PCSOs face sweeping cuts as West Midlands Police make £120m savings

PCSO numbers look set to be slashed at a faster rate than officers and other staff at West Midlands Police over the next five years, it was announced today.

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The force is looking to make savings of £130million by 2020.

A review of neighbourhood policing has been launched as part of the WMP2020 change programme.

It is the first time the force has carried out a wholesale review of PCSOs in terms of their role, numbers and deployment since their inception.

WMP2020 is looking at how local policing will work from 2020 and beyond against a continued backdrop of financial austerity.

PCSO Dan Giles uses a Pro Laser III speed-detection device, watched by Pc Mick Jennings, on Manor Way in Halesowen

Chief Constable Chris Sims said today: "I know many PCSOs are highly valued by the public and colleagues. "We will, as we have with all our staff, do all we can to find other roles for them in the force and will be looking at how we can ensure they are able to apply for police officer posts as part of our current recruitment drive."

Bosses say as a result of ongoing pressures, PCSO numbers could reduce at a faster rate than the reductions in officers and other police staff over the next five years.

The force is planning to cut the number of jobs by around 2,500 over the next five years - making the organisation smaller than when it was formed in 1974.

Ch Con Sims added: "By 2020 WMP will have reduced by almost 45 per cent over a decade.

"I am confident though that policing will continue to protect the public but how services may look and be delivered will have to alter - both to respond to the financial challenges we are facing and to new and growing threats like child sexual exploitation and online crime."

Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson added: "Neighbourhood policing is key to our relationships with communities. However, in the face of growing pressure on our services, the force will have to look and feel different to respond to crime in the future.

"I support the professional and thorough approach the Chief Constable is taking."

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