The Defence Police Federation has said it’s “incredibly nervous about further cuts” and how they will affect officers and the public.
Rumours are circulating about raking Government cuts to public services.
Defence Police Federation Chairman Eamon Keating said: “We’re incredibly nervous about further cuts because we were already under scrutiny in the Ministry of Defence with their previous budget cuts, so we’ve had a significant portion taken off our budget this year, before we have identified how these will be delivered. Our Force is also included in the civil service 2025 reduction, and on top of that we also may have more cuts coming after this announcement.
“We’re really concerned about how we will survive this. All of our officers are firearms officers who form part of the strategic armed reserve, we are part of the response to critical national incidents, so the impact could be quite significant.
“It’s disappointing that we consistently get hit, especially in an organisation where every officer’s role is to do the best they can for the public and national security. We keep getting pushed back in numbers and budgets – it’s incredibly difficult.
“When you look at national initiatives like Project Servator, we’re part of that but we don’t get any budget from the Home Office for it, likewise for counter-terrorism policing. We don’t receive the input when money is available and then when the cuts come we seem to be disproportionately impacted.”
Eamon added that a huge proportion of the Ministry of Defence Police’s budget is personnel, as the force doesn’t own properties and equipment like Home Office forces do. He said: “When you talk about cuts in the Ministry of Defence Police, you’re talking about people’s jobs.
