The number of police officers in Kirklees has fallen by 90 in just five years.
And Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman has told of his fears over the impact of any further cuts to police budgets.
The Examiner can reveal there are 90 fewer police officers in Kirklees than in 2010.
The number of full-time equivalent uniformed officers was 659 in April 2010 but that had dropped to 569 by this April.
Across West Yorkshire the number has fallen from 5,627 in October 2010 to 4,553 now – a drop of 1,074.
Mr Sheerman said: “The officer was talking me through just how many jobs the police have been cutting in the last few years, and it’s a substantial number.
“I know police now work in a different way, with more modern methods. We have to modernise, but we also have to keep morale strong.
“There is a critical mass in terms of numbers below which you cannot properly police a very big urban area.”
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Mr Sheerman said many officers have already left the police in recent years due to cuts.
“My meeting with senior police in Huddersfield shocked me as I learnt how many police we have lost in recent years.
“The idea of getting rid of backroom staff worries me. The backroom duties include intelligence units, where people sit and look at screens, and the officer in Huddersfield said that if they didn’t have that intelligence function, he wouldn’t know where to send officers.
“People want the police to have a high profile presence in the community. West Yorkshire Police has been particularly hard hit in recent years and you can only cut so far.”
He said many experienced staff are being encouraged to leave, leading to a loss of experienced officers.
“There are people at the peak of their ability, senior detectives, and there is a lot of pressure on them to retire, as they are more expensive.
“Where is the logic for any company in the world where people have to go when they reach the peak of their ability? It’s in everyone’s interest to keep that knowledge and experience in the force.”
Chief Supt Steve Cotter, of the Kirklees District, said: “Our numbers have gradually reduced over the past five years and this trend is likely to continue as we await the outcome of the forthcoming Government Comprehensive Spending Review.
“Although we are now operating with a workforce which is smaller in size, we have invested in the use of new technologies such as mobile hand-held devices that allow officers to undertake more of their work on the move, spending more time in their communities.
“This focus on technology is helping us to bridge the gap in numbers and deliver against the priorities of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan.
“At the same time, we are analysing how we manage and treat the demands placed upon the District, identifying what we might be able to do differently in the future.”
Some forces fear budgets cuts could be devastating due to changes to the funding formula.
And a number of police and crime commissioners – including North Yorkshire’s Julia Mulligan – have written to policing minister Mike Penning urging him to delay a decision on force budgets expected in the Government’s spending review this month.
Mr Penning announced changes to the formula in July, saying the current model was out of date.
A debate was held in Parliament about funding and the proposed new formula, and West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson said that during it, Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham said in the past five years 12,000 full-time officers across England and Wales have been lost.
“I share Andy Burnham’s concerns in that this could result in the country having a very different police service providing a much reduced service.”
He said changes to the funding formula are needed as West Yorkshire is currently hit “disproportionately hard...which has resulted in millions of pounds being top-sliced to support other areas.
“The impact of this...is being felt hard because of the severe Government cuts already imposed.
“With more cuts to come – which could be as high as another 40% – it is important that the Government at the very least gets the funding formula right so it is fairer for areas of high population and demand such as West Yorkshire.”
