Cut officer numbers and use tech to better fight crime, police chief says

Police forces should be allowed to cut officer numbers and spend more money on technology to improve crime fighting, a police chief has said.

- Vikram Dodd

Paul Sanford, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for finance, said there was an obsession with officer numbers even though it would often be more effective to have fewer officers supported by better technology.

Sanford, who is the chief constable of Norfolk constabulary, said forces cannot afford new technology that could help them solve crimes more quickly and serve victims better.

Police chiefs in England and Wales have said they need £3bn extra to fight crime properly, but there is little immediate prospect of them getting a real-terms increase in their budgets.

The Labour government and previous Tory government have told the 43 local forces the minimum number of officers they should have. They lose £50,000 per officer below the target.

Sanford said ending the rule on the minimum number of officers forces must employ could actually put more on the streets.

"If I had flexibility, I'd be employing more staff instead of officers, and I'd be making better use of technology," he said. "That would free up the time of my police officers, make them more visible and deliver the policing that the public expects of us.