Nearly 15,000 police jobs to go, warns Ed Balls

Ed Balls, the shadow home secretary, warned MPs today that 14,500 police jobs are already set to go as the coalition's spending cuts start to bite. Paul McKeever, the chair of the police federation, had earlier said that he cannot rule out the police taking to the streets in protest at the cuts, but said there were no immediate plans to do so. According to Labour's research, presented by Balls to a hearing of the home affairs select committee, 16 out of the 43 police forces or authorities in England and Wales have made public statements announcing that a total of 14,482 police staff jobs will be lost, including 6,257 police officers. Balls said: "This research shows the huge impact that the Conservative-led government's huge 20% cuts to policing are already making … this is just the tip of the iceberg. The vast majority of police forces have not yet announced how many jobs will go and some of those which have are only currently putting figures on job losses for one year. "The prime minister, David Cameron, and his home secretary, Theresa May, totally failed to stand up for the police in the spending review negotiations and now we are starting to see the consequences of that mistake. "The police are taking a much bigger hit than other vital public services. The sheer speed and scale of these cuts – over 20% and with the biggest reductions in the first two years – will hit the frontline hard and go way beyond what independent experts believe can be achieved from efficiencies and better procurement."