Police are appealing for information

POLICE chiefs have said that job losses are inevitable, after today announcing that a collaboration between Suffolk and Norfolk Police Authorities could save at least £9.8million across a four year period.

The Business Support Review (BSR) was approved by Suffolk Police Authority on Friday October 29 and by Norfolk’s authority on Monday.

The decisions aim to create a shared support function for both forces, providing services to collaborative units as well as separate frontline policing teams.

The plans are also in keeping with the Government’s drive to encourage more collaboration across the police service.

It is in hope that the service will be able to provide improved value to forces and Council Tax payers, however there has been wide speculation over job losses.

Assistant Chief Constable for Collaboration, Charlie Hall, said: “Our priority is to re-design our support functions so that they can support both our individual frontline services and collaborated teams more efficiently, ensuring we can deliver the best possible service to our communities.”

“We acknowledge the fact that, while there will be efficiency increases, it is inevitable that some jobs will be lost. We are committed to managing this as sensitively as possible through regular communication and engagement opportunities with staff.”

The first steps of the implementation will now commence – this includes agreeing dates for the creation of individual joint units in the months and years ahead.