Police staff members could face redundancies, leaving officers to take on additional workloads, if the Government proceeds with its plans to recruit extra officers without addressing funding shortfalls, Sussex Police Federation has warned.

The Home Secretary has pledged to recruit 13,000 additional officers during the next parliament, including a named, contactable officer in every community. But they have made no mention of how this will be funded. However, police chiefs warn that achieving this goal may necessitate cuts elsewhere in forces to balance budgets.

Sussex Police Federation Chair Raffaele Cioffi has questioned how the Government plans to finance this ambitious target.

“How could this possibly be achieved? You can’t get more for less. So what does this mean for our colleagues? I’m genuinely concerned about what the Home Office is proposing. On one hand, they’re saying they’ll recruit 13,000 more officers, but on the other, they’re demanding budget cuts. Government will need to accept that you will not be able to achieve all of your policing manifesto if you are planning on withholding funds from forces.

“Our chief officers are already warning that officer numbers could be affected to balance the books. While officers can’t be made redundant, reductions through natural wastage would still strain resources. Meanwhile, our police staff colleagues, who are essential to the running of the force, are at risk of redundancy. The critical work they do would inevitably fall to constables, because the wheel must keep turning, and we have to maintain service delivery for the public.”

Raffaele emphasized that without addressing the funding gap and the flaws in the funding formula, staffing issues cannot be resolved.

“We need help with our funding,” he said. “If not, the Government will have to accept that service delivery will suffer.”