Police officers to use buses in cuts

Frontline officers will be forced to use public transport instead of panda cars due to cost-cutting at Staffordshire Police, it was revealed today.

The force wants uniformed constables and community support officers to get on buses and trains as it tries to plug a £38 million gap in Government funding.

Police chiefs are trying to trim £900,000 from next year's transport and travel budget and want to cut down on the use of fleet cars.

Uniformed officers are already able to travel for free on trains and buses but the force wants the agreement with travel firms to be made more formal. South Staffordshire

MP Gavin Williamson said today he would be seeking assurances from Chief Constable Mike Cunningham over the issue.

"There is no direct bus between Codsall and Kinver, so I will want reassurance there the area is not going to be lacking in policing because officers are spending half their time in the West Midlands trying to get from one end of South Staffordshire to the other," said the Tory MP.

"Because of the large rural nature of the patch, what is possible in somewhere like Stafford, Cannock or Stoke is not able to be translated in a rural area."

Staffordshire Police spokesman Peter Bate said: "There's no question of officers using public transport to respond to crime – it's simply an extra option for when they attend appointments or are out and about on patrol."