Staffordshire commissioner quizzed over police numbers

The police fire and crime commissioner Matthew Ellis, was quizzed during a panel on Monday (October 28), that meets around seven times per year to scrutinise his work.

Retired police superintendent and member of the Police Fire and Crime Panel Keith Walker, pressed Mr Ellis for answers as to why neighbouring forces had more police officers and staff than Staffordshire Police – even though their budgets were smaller by £17 million or more.

He used the commissioner’s chief executive, Glynn Dixon’s own figures to question Mr Ellis.

Mr Walker explained his issue was whether there are enough police officers in Staffordshire to provide an adequate and an efficient policing service.

He said: “In 2017, when these figures are quoted, Staffordshire’s [police] budget was £171 million. [In the] same year, Cheshire’s budget was £157 million. A difference of £14 million.

“In actual fact, based on Glynn’s 2017 figures, Cheshire had 440 extra police officers than Staffordshire, on a budget of £14 million less. They are employing an extra nearly 300 police staff more than Staffordshire.

“The consequence of that is when you go to places in Cheshire; Knutsford, Wilmslow, Macclesfield, wherever. You see police officers walking the streets. You see police stations open.”

Mr Walker added that Cheshire weren’t the only neighbouring force that appeared to be ‘doing more with less’.

He continued: “Let’s have a look at Derbyshire, who had a budget of £151 million, which is £20 million less than Staffordshire. They employ 145 more officers.

“Leicestershire, with a budget of £17 million less than Staffordshire, employ 177 more officers. It’s not just Cheshire.

“Similar forces to Staffordshire are employing more police officers with less budget.

“Where is the money going? Why are we closing police stations? And why have we got the second or the third lowest number of police officers per 100,000 of population when it appears that we’ve got the money to fund more police officers?”

The commissioner responded: “You’ve thrown lots and lots of figures, and if you talked to the police and crime commissioner in Cheshire he would have a completely different view of the world to what you have just described.

“I think it’s difficult when you throw all these statistics out at the beginning of a meeting with no advance notice of it whatsoever. I will make sure that my people go away and understand some of what you have said.

“I think the mix is really important. Staffordshire has a significant number of people involved with the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU). I think there will be many reasons. And one thing I have learned with policing is there are many, many different ways of explaining exactly the same picture.

"Staffordshire is one of five forces where crime is, thank goodness, reducing at last.

"I would also say we would need to analyse those figures because actually, just bear in mind, there are lots and lots of forces who have warranted officers not doing the jobs of warranted officers. They’re doing filing and all these sorts of things.”

Mr Ellis asked for the information Mr Walker had to be provided to his officials so they could look at it and report back on it at the next panel meeting on February 3, 2020.