Police chief: Crooks know we can't bring them to book

Dave Thompson said that it was now common knowledge that as a result of budget cuts, police were not pursuing crimes where they could find a suspect, adding: “We are struggling to deliver a service to the public.”

It came as senior Labour MPs rounded on the Government over police cuts, with deputy leader Tom Watson describing the Tories as ‘the party of crime and disorder’.

Mr Thompson has revealed that WMP faces losing £20 million from its budget and up to 500 officers as a result of pension changes proposed by the Treasury.

He said: “There is no question there will be more obvious rationing of services. The public can already see it is going on.

“We are already not pursuing crimes where we could find a suspect. We are doing things now that surprise me.

“I think criminals are well aware now how stretched we are.”

The Government’s proposals, which Mr Thompson branded ‘utterly extraordinary’, have prompted the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson to write to MPs calling for their support to oppose the plans.

West Bromwich East MP Mr Watson said: “The thin blue line of policing is now stretched to the point of breaking.

“The words of the Chief Constable are damning and it is nothing short of scandalous that budget cuts are leading to open rationing of the police service in the West Midlands.

It makes a mockery of Theresa May’s claim that austerity is over.

“These unforeseen pension shortfalls will remove another 500 officers from streets across the Black Country at a time of spiralling violent crime.

“Residents will be very worried by this. I can’t blame them.

“It is now clear for all to see that the Tories cannot be trusted to keep the public safe. The party that once claimed to be the party of law and order is now the party of crime and disorder.”

Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden said the region could not afford any more cuts to police numbers at a time of rising crime.

“This is extremely worrying against a backdrop of sharply rising violent crime and the steep cuts in police officer numbers that have taken place in recent years,” he said.

“The West Midlands force simply cannot afford to lose more officers.

“The police are already under huge strain and public anxiety about crime is rising. It is vital that the police forces and the Government seek an understanding on pension costs that does not result in forces having to make yet more cuts in the number of officers they employ.”

Sara Thornton, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said the pensions changes mean police forces across England and Wales could need to find an extra £417m in total by 2020/21.

She says this could mean a loss of 10,000 officers across the country.

Mr Thompson has called an emergency budget to re-evaluate force spending plans, at a time when cuts to WMP funding are now at £175m since 2010.

The Home Office said it was working to understand the impact of the plan.

In recent weeks Chancellor Philip Hammond has come under increasing pressure to boost police coffers in his Budget statement next Monday.