SURREY Police is to axe up to 400 jobs, including 32 police officers, and give greater priority to tackling sexual offences in an attempt to cope with £25 million budget cuts, the force has confirmed.

In a press briefing at Surrey Police headquarters, Mount Browne in Guildford last week, Chief Constable Lynne Owens said the force would have to undergo a dramatic restructuring to adapt to Government austerity as well as the changing nature of crime in the county.

Over the last three years, Surrey Police has seen a 153 per cent increase in reports of rape, a 122 per cent increase in reports of sexual offences and a 34 per cent increase in reports of domestic violence in the county.

During the same period, reports of house burglaries have fallen by 24 per cent and reports of car thefts is down 32 per cent.

To meet this changing demand, Surrey Police will over the next four years shift more resources into teams that specifically protect vulnerable people, while employing a “threat, risk and harm” approach across the force to prioritise those in the greatest need.

Surrey Police’s overall workforce will shrink by 10 per cent under the new model, set to be implemented in April 2016, with the majority of posts cut relating to non-uniformed back office staff.

Safer Neighbourhood teams will be reduced from 438 officers to 187, and CID officers from 393 to 147 - in turn bolstering other areas of the force such as the safeguarding investigation unit, which will increase from 133 officers to 178.

However, the most striking feature of the new policing model is the advent of new ‘area policing teams’ to replace Surrey’s current targeted patrol teams.

Whereas Surrey’s targeted patrol teams are currently based in regional centres such as Guildford covering wide areas across the county, the new area teams will see these officers reassigned to a specific borough or district such as Waverley.

Managed by dedicated neighbourhood inspectors, the new area teams will be tasked with tackling “chronic” issues and repeat offenders, working with partners such as hospitals and councils, and supporting smaller but still dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

Local officers will also be given greater responsibilities and training to investigate cases from start to finish - compensating for the reduction in CID officers.

And although the force admits this greater investigative role may result in a less visible police presence on Surrey’s streets, it hopes to reduce the demands on local officers through a variety of other time-saving measures.

Key to this will be the deployment of trained police officers in the 999/101 contact centre to “resolve, resource and refer” - with the intention that many inquiries can be dealt with over the phone or via the online crime reporting service without the need for a officer to attend in person.

Other initiatives will see larger businesses encouraged to invest more in crime prevention, such as pre-pay pumps at petrol stations, while other agencies such as hospitals and councils will be expected to do more to ease the burden on the police.

Chief Constable Lynne Owens said: “This is not all about money. The nature of crime is changing and this is our response to it. We are re-focusing our services to protect the vulnerable and tackle the changing risks, threats and harm our communities face.

“We’ve seen huge increases in the number of reports of rape and other sexual offences over the past three years, and a third of these cases are historical. After the Jimmy Saville case, victims of rape and sexual abuse are more confident to come forward and we will continue to support those victims when they do come forward.

“But this means that as well as dealing with today’s crime, we are also dealing with yesterday’s crime today. Quite simply, we haven’t been able to keep up with this volume of demand within our current model.

“We recognise that a visible presence is valued by the public, but in reality victims are more likely to be targeted in their homes and online than on the streets. We have to change the way we deliver our services to reflect that.”

The chief constable added a comprehensive review of Surrey Police’s services began a year ago, and the force has spent a lot of time talking to officers and staff whose feedback has fed directly into the new model.

She also promised even greater collaboration with neighbouring forces in areas such as IT, firearms, major crime investigation and cyber crime, as well as other local, regional and national partners to deliver services in a “better, more cost effective way”.

Surrey’s independent Police and Crime Commissioner, Kevin Hurley, praised the new model for “putting really vulnerable” victims first, but warned the Government cutbacks would change the face of policing in the county.

He said: “Surrey Police is in the best position of any force in the country to deal with austerity because of the rationalisation process over the past four years. We’ve reduced the number of buildings we use and have worked closely with neighbouring forces to reduce costs.

“But even with the rationalisation, the cuts are now starting to bite. The Government has told us we need to find another £25 million savings and as 80 to 85 per cent of our costs go on our wage bill, it is no surprise that any reductions to our budget will result in a fall in police staff.

“Some of the police staff who are going are expert investigators - former detective officers who were brought in to beef up Surrey’s capability.

“The new model will see front-line officers take on more of the investigative burden than they once did before and with appropriate training, we’re hopeful that the officers will deliver a quality service.

“But the reality of it is, they will spend more time extracted from visible patrols because they will be dealing with stuff that was once done by civilian people in police stations.”