Plea to return 700 officers to West Midlands Police

Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster has urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to use this week’s Comprehensive Spending Review to restore frontline policing numbers to pre-austerity levels.

Mr Foster said 700 officers have been cut from the force due to historic under-funding.

Earlier this year, he announced 150 additional neighbourhood officers had been secured, but said this still left the force short of officers and with 500 fewer PCSOs than it had 15 years ago.

He added that other forces around the country had more officers than ever in their history and branded this "unfair".

Mr Foster said: “The people of the West Midlands have been short-changed for far too long.

“We still have nearly 700 fewer police officers than in 2010, despite rising demand and increasing complexity in the nature of crime.

“However, many other police force areas now have more police officers than they have ever had in their force histories. That is not fair and it is not just.

“The West Midlands has been short-changed for far too long. It’s time for the Government to take this opportunity to put that right.”

The PCC is also calling for a fairer funding formula that allocates resources based on actual demand and need, rather than "outdated" metrics that disadvantage urban forces like West Midlands Police.

He said: “We need a funding model that reflects the real pressures on policing in our region.

“The current formula is broken and unfit for purpose. It fails to account for the scale of demand we face, from serious organised crime to safeguarding vulnerable people.

“This is not about more money. It is about delivering a fairer allocation of funding, to keep our people and communities safe and secure.”

The 2025 Spending Review will set departmental budgets for the years 2026/27 to 2028/29, with investment plans extending to 2029/30.