Police cuts 'threaten ability to tackle riots'

Police would struggle to tackle a repeat of the 2011 London riots as forces across the country feel the strain of years of budget cuts, one of Britain's most senior officers has warned.

The Chief Constable of West Midlands Police Dave Thompson said a series of major incidents across the country in recent weeks has exposed the challenges faced by forces under financial pressure.

He said the force risked a breakdown similar to that which hit the prison service in 2016.

Mr Thompson called on the Government to boost investment, protect front-line policing including bobbies on the beat and cut bureaucracy in a blog for the National Police Chief's Council (NPCC).

He said: "Last year we saw the prison service snap under pressure with riots in Birmingham Prison.

"We cannot afford this to happen to policing but the strain is showing from recent weeks and we'd have real challenges in dealing with something like the 2011 riots again."

The terror attacks in London and Manchester required a huge police response. Following the Manchester attack, officers were deployed from across the country amid fears of another bombing.

Investment in counter-terror policing had increased, along with partial increases for firearms officers.

However Mr Thompson warned that much of the response to major incidents comes from core police budgets.

"Over two thirds of the policing effort after the Westminster attack was not counter-terrorism funded. This figure will be much higher following the Manchester attack."

He warned counter-terror policing is "in no place to deliver efficiency savings" and also called on the Government to cut red tape as a means to ease pressures.

"It's also time to ask why a growing proportion of the police budget is being allocated to managing complaints or non-policing spend at a time when our core role is under strain," he said.

Mr Thompson said extra spending should target the growing cyber threat and urged policymakers "to think very carefully about the need for enhanced protection for our officers who run towards the terrorists".

Fighting the root causes of extremism cannot be done in the shadows or through more armed officers, Mr Thompson said.

"Police leaders value local neighbourhood policing so strongly, not from a dewy-eyed, sentimental yearning for the past but because it helps us gather intelligence, prevent harm and build public trust.

"A service that is not meeting the needs of local people is not likely to win their trust or assure them of their safety. Without investment or protection this time-served feature of policing will disappear at huge cost to our nation's security."