THE government's forcing Lancashire Constabulary to slash its overtime bill by £3 million a year has already been branded a "robbers' charter" by Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans who fears it will mean fewer officers on patrol.
And, less emotively, we have Chief Superintendent John Thompson warning that the cuts will "create difficulties."
Indeed, it is hard to see how the performance of the police will not suffer if overtime working is reduced in proportion to funding for it being cut from £8.2million a year at present to £5million.
Financial prudence is fine - but, surely, not if the result is more crime. And why is pulling the purse strings on the overtime bill happening at all - when the force is mucked up with money?
Just what is the point of spending the £7.6 million raked in from speed-camera fines last year on still more cameras when this money could either be used to pay the overtime bill or to recruit more officers and reduce it?
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