Labour Party: Greater Manchester Police are being put in an impossible position - Balls

Ed Balls MP, Labour's Shadow Home Secretary, said in response to reports that Greater Manchester Police is planning to lose 1500 police officers and 1400 civilian staff – around a quarter of its staff – over the next four years:

“Job losses of this scale go beyond what both the Police Federation and KPMG have so far estimated the spending review will mean for police officer numbers. But Greater Manchester Police are being put in an impossible position by a government which is imposing twenty per cent cuts in funding. 

“Every police force in the country is now having to work out the implications of the deep and immediate cuts the Home Secretary has demanded. But by front-loading the cuts in the first two years, the Tory-Lib Dem government is making it even more difficult for forces to protect the frontline by finding long-term efficiency savings. 

“People are rightly concerned that cuts of this scale and speed will undermine the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour and take reckless risks with the safety of our communities.”