Policing leaders said plans to impose the heaviest spending reductions straight away will “damage” the front line and have urged the cuts to be phased in more gradually, The Daily Telegraph discloses today.

It will further fuel fears that drastic cuts will overstretch officers and lead to a rise in crime.

It comes as a number of police forces have already announced plans to cut officer and staff numbers as a result of the Home Office announcement that funding will be slashed by 20 per cent over the next four years.

But in a cross-party letter, the Association of Police Authorities (APA) has urged Nick Herbert, the policing minister, to reconsider how the cuts are introduced.

…more at the Daily Telegraph

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