A further 2,000 West Midlands police jobs could be axed as a result of Government spending cuts.
The figure was revealed by Police Commissioner Bob Jones, who warned that a continued cull of uniformed officers might send into reverse a recent record fall in recorded crime.
Mr Jones said “alarming” proposals for a further 10 per cent cut in police budgets over four years from 2015, outlined recently by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, posed a real risk
Bob Jones
The West Midlands Police and Crime Panel, a ‘critical friend’ to Police Commissioner Bob Jones, has certainly been critical, if not altogether friendly in its deliberations so far.
Asked to scrutinise Jones’ draft Police and Crime Plan setting out priorities for the coming year, the committee of local councillors posed a killer question about the document’s aspirations: “How will you actually achieve what you are promising to do?”
In a report that could be described as blunt and to the point, Mr Jones was told: “Overall, we felt the plan could have included more detail about how aspirations would be achieved.
“We also note that you assured the panel that precise action plans would underlie all of the deliverables listed in your plan – we look forward to seeing clear links to these action plans in a future iteration, along with some definitive timescales.”
The heavyweight panel includes the leaders and deputy leaders of West Midlands councils and was set up to monitor Jones’s performance as PCC.
The report went on to hit out at “unclear and unambitious” targets to
Birmingham’s Steelhouse Lane police station, one of the oldest in the country, is to close as part of a £17 million savings plan.
The listed building, which dates from the 1890s, still has a Victorian-era custody block in everyday use and the cost of bringing the facilities up to modern standards has been declared prohibitive.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Bob Jones confirmed that Steelhouse Lane will be declared surplus to requirements within two years and the building will be sold.
Operational police officers and administrative staff are to be transferred to the nearby Lloyd House police headquarters at Colmore Circus, which will be improved and become the new central police station for Birmingham.
The Steelhouse Lane custody facilities will not be transferred to Lloyd House and will instead move to a purpose-built site elsewhere in Birmingham. West Midlands police custody provision is to be boosted by a ‘super block’ custody suite to be built in Sandwell, Mr Jones said.
Office-based police staff at Civic House and Aqua House in Birmingham will also move to Lloyd House in a wide-ranging shake-up of accommodation which Mr Jones said would
Bob Jones
West Midlands Police Commissioner Bob Jones has appointed three assistants, and they are all Labour councillors.
Faye Abbott (Coventry), Judy Foster (Dudley) and Mohammed Nazir (Walsall) will be paid £22,500 for a two and a half day week.
The three will be expected to act as “champions” with responsibility for specific areas including victims, health, technology, equalities, human rights, and business, Mr Jones said.
They will sit on a new Strategic Policing and Crime Board alongside Mr Jones and his deputy, Birmingham Labour councillor Yvonne Mosquito.
It remains unclear whether the three will follow the example set by Mr Jones and resign as councillors. Ms Mosquito has said she intends to remain a Birmingham councillor.
Four non-executive members of the new board were also appointed by Mr Jones.
They are
West Midlands Police Commissioner Bob Jones has been accused of “failing to respect the dignity of his office” by promoting outspoken attacks on the Conservative Party through social media.
Using his personal Facebook account, Mr Jones has regularly shared posts from Facebook pages ‘Nobody Likes a Tory’ and ‘Another Angry Voice’ alongside publicising a wide range of interests including the real ale society Camra and the preservation of Welsh railways.
One of his latest postings suggests that it is part of Conservative philosophy to “take from the needy and give to the greedy” and that
