SURREY Police has been airing its concerns to local MPs over their continued lack of government funding. The police authority and police outlined the impact the cash shortage is having in two briefings at Surrey Police headquarters at Mount Browne last week. Authority members and police chiefs spelled out their concerns over force funding to a group of seven Surrey MPS, including Sir Paul Beresford, Crispin Blunt and David Wilshire. The force said that particularly hard hit is the funding of police community support officers (PCSOs), intended to have a key role to play in neighbourhood policing. The government had originally set a target of recruiting 24,000 PCSOs nationally by 2008. Recently, it reduced the target to 16,000, cutting the funding for the initiative. The force said it had planned to recruit 329 PCSOs with the aim that there would be a PCSO presence in every neighbourhood, but can now only recruit 222. Chief Constable Bob Quick said: "This is very disappointing as we believe they play a strong role in neighbourhood policing by providing a presence within the community and feeding back valuable information to solve crimes and make Surrey a safer place to live for residents. "Our hands are effectively tied by government on this issue. The meetings with local MPs will provide an opportunity to update them on our concerns and enlist their support in addressing many of the issues raised." The chief constable and the Surrey Police Authority chairman, Jim Smith, also discussed other implications of the emerging funding gap in the police budget - expected to get tougher with an annual rise in funding of only 2.7 per cent between 2008 and 2010. They pointed out this would not cover the cost of inflation, let alone the cost of new government initiatives and criminal justice bills. The Home Office left Surrey Police with a bill of £711,000 following the work undertaken in preparation of force merger proposals. And the force has also complained of being shortchanged £129,000 for policing a government event - the EU heads of state meeting at Sandown Park. Mr Smith said: "It is our responsibility as a police authority to set the policing budget and to rectify any financial concerns that may arise. "Over the last seven years we have made efficiency savings of £40.4 million, with a further £9.5 million planned for next financial year. "However, despite these efforts, the gap is still increasing year-on-year. This long- standing financial issue is now beginning to have an effect on our plans for policing Surrey. "We are keen to enlist the support of MPs to help us communicate our growing concerns to those that need to know."
